


To Fall And To Live, To Adore And To Give

by elivigar



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Autumn, Co-workers, Couch Cuddles, Explicit Sexual Content, First Time, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Kissing, M/M, Romance, Strangers to Lovers, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:41:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 46,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27212092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elivigar/pseuds/elivigar
Summary: “Well, I remember you saying you really wanted to go and you seem like a nice enough guy, so…”It takes Luke a solid three seconds to take the words in, and when he does, his brain short circuits and he finds himself simply gaping up at Ashton. It’s not until Ashton starts looking a little worried that Luke rediscovers his ability to speak. “You— I— huh?” Admittedly, ‘speak’ might be a little too generous. “Okay, but— you— am I misunderstanding something, or are you asking me if I wanna go on vacation with you? To a cabin, in the mountains?In which Ashton and Luke spend a week together in a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Relationships: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! This fic came from the prompt “Renting a cabin together” with Lashton, which was assigned to me by the lovely [Ainslee](https://ashesonthefloor.tumblr.com), who took the time to organise a 5SOS Halloween fic challenge♥ In true me-style, the prompt ran away with me and became a lot longer than I intended. Like, I was thinking around 20k when I started, and it wound up being twice as long, but I hope you enjoy it anyway? 
> 
> The fic was all written very, very out of order. Like, one of the last scenes in the fic was one of the first to be written, and I wrote one scene here and one scene there, because certain scenes required that I was in a semi-specific mindset before I went in, so I had to just jump in whenever said mindsets presented themselves, and then I connected these scenes as I went. The point, anyway, is that despite about fifty-nine rounds of editing, there may still be an inconsistency or two left, in which case I apologise. 
> 
> I also just wanna put it out there that I don’t know shit about Atlanta, The Great Smoky Mountains or… well, the US in general, so please forgive any inaccuracies or mistakes you may stumble upon (or feel free to point them out to me if you feel like it)! I feel like I should also state that I have no idea what is or isn’t on Netflix in the US when it comes to series and movies, so… just ignore it if I made any blunders on that front.
> 
> If anyone wants to read this, but are uncomfortable with alcohol, smut or something else featured in this fic (all warnings are in the tags), shoot me a message on [Tumblr](http://ashtcnirwin.tumblr.com) or whatever other s/m you have me on, and I'll be happy to make some edits and send you a PDF!
> 
> And, as always, I try my very, very best, but English isn’t my first language, so feel more than free to let me know if you spot mistakes of any kind! I should also say that I finished this fic about half an hour before the deadline, and I'm very sick atm, high fever and everything, so the writing on certain parts might not be very elegant despite my attempts to edit. Hope y’all enjoy, come talk to me on [Tumblr](http://ashtcnirwin.tumblr.com)if you wanna!♥

It’s not so much that Luke minds going to work functions as it is that this is the third one he’s been to in the last month alone. At some point, the mingling and the chatting to co-workers and people he’s never talked to and will probably never talk to again, gets old. It’s fair enough that he’s not one to pass up free food and drinks, especially not when said food and drinks are fantastic, but the figurative price he has to pay is feeling increasingly high for each passing second.

As he nips at the wine in his hand, he crosses his legs and lets his eyes wander around the room. He spots the channel’s lead anchor, John, who’s in apparent deep and somewhat intimate and drunken conversation with his co-anchor, Sandra, who’s grinning from ear to ear. Smiling for no one to see, he shakes his head, and shifts his gaze to a large group of people standing by one of the large windows, stretching from the floor and all the way up to the ceiling, offering a quite stunning view of Atlanta by night. Luke doesn’t know the names of anyone in the group, only recognising a couple of them by looks, but they seem to be having the funniest conversation that’s ever taken place, if the roaring laughter is anything to judge by. He smiles again, this time somewhat wistfully.

A sudden movement in the corner of his eye snaps him out of his train of thought, and he turns his head just in time to see Calum slump down on the chair next to him. Grinning, Calum asks, “What are you doing, sitting here all alone?”

“Resisting the urge to get up and go home,” Luke admits.

“Oh, come on, this is a good party,” Calum says as he makes a vague hand gesture around the room. “Way better than the last one.”

Luke shrugs and takes a sip of wine. “To be honest they’ve all started to blend together.”

“How it is that you’re twenty-four years old and still act like going to parties is the worst fate that could ever befall anyone is beyond me,” Calum says dryly. Swinging his legs up to rest on one of the free chairs around the circular table, he regards Luke for a moment, then smiles. “You could just leave if you really want to. Not to be mean, but I don’t think anyone would miss you.”

“‘Cause I’m just an invisible wallflower,” Luke snorts. He can’t even bring himself to take any offense; there’s too much truth to the statement.

“By your own choosing, I might add,” Calum says, waving an admonish finger in Luke’s general direction. “You’re funny when you wanna be, you’re hot, you’re interesting, you—”

“Are you hitting on me?”

“You wish. No, I’m just saying that you’d probably have a better time at these things if you tried a little harder.”

“You’ve known me since I was, like, twelve; when have you ever known me to be a social butterfly?”

Calum opens his mouth to respond, but before he’s gotten any words out, he’s interrupted by a loud round of applause coming from somewhere across the room. Turning to see where the commotion is coming from, Luke spots John up on a podium, microphone in hand.

“Oh, shit, they’re about to start,” Calum says as he jumps to his feet.

“Start what?” Luke asks as he gets up and follows Calum over to the podium, where everyone has gathered to watch John. They find a spot in the back, and Luke looks at Calum, waiting for an explanation.

“The raffle,” Calum says. When Luke merely continues to look at him, more confused than ever, he rolls his eyes. “We got an email about it, like, two months ago, you airhead.”

“When do I ever check my work-email?” Luke asks.

“They told us to check it, like, a million times,” Calum laughs. “I take it you haven’t bought any tickets, then, and are therefore unlikely to win anything.”

Luke grumbles. “Probably. Since when do we do raffles here, anyway?”

“Since the execs realised that they’d gotten too many perks a little while back and decided that instead of making use of all of it themselves, or just throw them away, they’d give everyone a chance to buy as many raffle tickets as they wanted, then draw a winner for each item or experience or whatever, and give the money from the tickets to a local children’s hospital.”

“Oh, great, so now I’m the asshole who didn’t wanna support the sick children,” Luke mutters.

“Yes, that’s exactly what everyone’s thinking.”

Their conversation ends there as John starts speaking. Luke’s only listening with half an ear, too busy admonishing himself for not paying better attention to what goes on in the office. To be fair, he pays a great deal of attention to everything directly related to his job; he’s just not the best at paying attention to anything that isn’t. As John presents the first item, though, he realises he probably should, because said item is an expensive pair of headphones that Luke has had his eyes on for a solid three months.

As it turns out, everything that gets drawn is of the fancy or expensive variety. VIP concert tickets, movie premiere tickets, spa gift certificates, ridiculous-looking but probably expensive decoration items, an all-expense paid trip to a winery Napa, and so on.

“Why the hell do the execs get all this stuff anyway?” Luke whispers to Calum as some woman Luke doesn’t know goes to the podium to claim her certificate for two hours with a personal shopper. “This network isn’t _that_ big and important, is it?”

“Big and important enough for people to wanna be on its good side, apparently,” Calum says.

“We’ve reached the last of our prices for the evening!” John says loudly, effectively silencing everyone. “This one’s a week-long stay for two at a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains in October, complete with a spectacular view, a hot tub, a fireplace and more food and drinks than anyone could hope to consume in a week!”

Luke groans softly. Not that he’d have anyone to take on what sounds like a romantic trip to a cabin for a week, but he'd be perfectly happy to go by himself, and just spend the week relaxing, watching movies and boiling himself in the spa. As he watches John root around in the large bowl filled with tickets, he once again vows to himself to pay more attention to what goes on in the damn office from now on.

“Alright, here we go!” John exclaims. “The winner is… number B-969!”

The room goes completely quiet for a split second while everyone who’s bought tickets looks at their numbers. Then, from somewhere to Luke’s right, comes a loud shout of victory, and the crowd begins to move to let whoever won through to the podium. Luke watches as a guy he’s greeted once or twice in passing, but can’t for the life of him remember the name of, bounces up the three steps to the podium and approaches John with a wide smile on his face.

“Most recent employee of ours and you go ahead and snag one of the best prices,” John says, laughing, as he gives the guy a pat on the back and hands him a thick envelope.

“He’s been here for, like, a year,” Calum remarks. “But okay, sure.”

“Still the most recent one, unless you count the interns that come and go every other week,” Luke says, shrugging. “What’s his name again?”

“Ashton. He’s a sound technician, came over from Australia a year back or so he told me last week.”

Luke hums as he watches Ashton walk off the podium and back to his earlier spot, where a guy with messy hair immediately gives him a fistbump, then whispers something in his ear. If Luke’s not entirely mistaken, the other guy’s name is Michael.

“Lucky guy,” Luke says.

Calum sighs. “Yeah. Wouldn’t have minded a week of relaxation myself.”

The crowd slowly breaks up into smaller groups, and Luke follows in Calum’s tracks back to their table. Michael has sat down there, along with the woman who won the personal shopper-certificate, and they’re so deep in conversation that they don’t seem to even notice Luke and Calum joining them.

“Do you think they’ll do something like this again?” Luke asks as he swirls the remnants of his wine around in the glass. “Kinda bummed I didn’t get the chance to win anything.”

“If you’d read the email, you’d already know that they intend to do this as often as they have enough stuff to hand out.”

“Cool,” Luke says, choosing to ignore the slight dig before emptying his glass. Rising to his feet, he asks, “You need more to eat or drink?”

“Just some water.”

Nodding, Luke walks over to the drinks table, where there seems to be more of everything left. Grabbing a glass of water and filling it with ice cubes for Calum, he takes another glass of wine for himself, then makes his way back to the table. Upon arriving, he realises that his seat’s been taken in the one minute or so he was gone, so he puts down both glasses on the table before grabbing a free chair from a nearby table and dragging it over, placing it between Calum and Michael. It’s not until he sits down that he realises that the person who’s taken his seat is Ashton.

“Hey,” he says, offering Ashton a smile. “Congrats on the win.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Ashton says with a grin that showcases a row of somewhat uneven, but pearly white teeth. “Didn’t think I had a chance in hell to win anything, ‘cause I mean, there are like… what, a hundred and ten people here?”

“And yet you went ahead and got the best one,” Calum says with mock resentment.

Ashton tilts his head back and forth a couple of times. “Dunno about that. The spa-thing sounded pretty nice, and the trip to the winery as well.”

“Not when compared to a week in a cabin where there’s a fireplace and a spa,” Luke says.

“Yeah, this is Luke and he nearly peed himself with envy when he heard what that last price was,” Calum says, raising his glass towards Luke.

Luke makes an unhappy noise. “Can you blame me? It sounds amazing.”

Ashton laughs. “It does, yeah, I’m pretty excited about it to be honest.”

“Who are you gonna take?” Calum asks. “Got a girl or a guy or whatever your deal is, or…?”

A sudden bark of laughter from the other side of the table grabs their attention, and Luke realises after a beat that it’s Michael who’s finally broken away from his conversation with the woman.

“Yeah, Ash, why don’t you ask one of the sixty-something dates you’ve had in the last week alone to go with you?” he asks, still laughing.

Ashton raises an eyebrow at Michael, then shakes his head and turns his attention back to Luke and Calum. “This is Michael, dunno if you know each other, but he’s an ass and I haven’t been on sixty dates in the last week.”

“No judgement here,” Calum says easily. “If you’re able to get sixty dates in a week and also find the time to go on them, you deserve a bloody medal.”

Luke thinks to himself that someone who looks like Ashton probably _could_ get an impressive number of dates in a week. Maybe not sixty, but definitely quite a few. Definitely more than Luke. Not that that’s saying a lot considering he hasn’t been on a date since mid-January and it’s now late July. It’s a little pitiful, really, since it’s not necessarily by choice that he’s perpetually date-less.

It’s nearly one thirty by the time Luke makes it home. He greets a meowing and purring Uno by lifting him up and cuddling him close as he goes to the bedroom. Putting the cat down on the bed, he gets undressed and slips under the covers. Exhausted and somewhat tipsy as he is, it doesn’t take more than a minute or two before he drifts off with Uno pressed up against his side.

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

The next few weeks pass in a flurry of rain, then sun, then more rain. Luke makes it a habit to bring an umbrella with him whenever he leaves his flat, no matter how innocent the sky looks, and he comes to appreciate it more than once. Work is relatively uneventful, and Luke often finds himself functioning on auto-pilot — he researches, he looks for interesting stories to bring to the table, and about fifty percent of the time, they get picked up and turned into segments for the anchors to present. It’s a comfortable and satisfying existence, and Luke’s quite content with it.

On a day in the middle of October, Luke arrives at work a few minutes late. He accidentally slept through all four of his alarms, and he feels less than fresh when he walks into the office and collapses his umbrella. He barely had time to brush his teeth and drag a brush through his hair, much less to take a shower or put together a somewhat presentable outfit. The result is that he’s wearing a hoodie he’s had since he was eighteen and a pair of black jeans that needs a round in the washer. At least his underwear and socks are clean.

He does his very best to not make eye contact with anyone as he makes his way towards his station, and the result is that he winds up walking right into something. Some _thing_ turns out to be some _one_ , and Luke squeaks loudly as he stumbles backwards and promptly lands on his ass on the floor.

Grimacing, he looks up, ready to apologise to whoever he bumped into. Before he gets that far, though, a hand’s being held out for him, and he realises that the person standing over him is Ashton. He’s dyed his hair since Luke last saw him; it’s black now, as opposed to bright red, and slightly longer. It looks good, Luke can’t help but notice.

“Sorry,” he says, clearing his throat as he accepts Ashton’s hand and lets himself be pulled up. “Didn’t mean to slam into you.”

“No worries,” Ashton says. “I was having a bit of a dull morning anyway.”

A surprised laugh escapes Luke before he can stop it. “Glad to be of service, then, I guess,” he says.

Ashton grins. Throwing a quick glance up and down Luke’s body, he raises his eyebrows. “Rough morning?”

Luke makes a face. “Is it that obvious?”

“No, I mean, you look fine, but you usually dress with a little more… I don’t know, flare, I guess.”

Ducking his head for a moment, Luke smiles. “I didn’t… realise anyone had noticed.”

“A little hard to not notice the guy who strolls into the office in tight leather pants and whose legs are fifty miles long,” Ashton says.

Luke blinks. It’s not that he’s not used to receiving compliments, per say, but to receive them off-handedly at work on a day he expected to receive anything _but_ compliments, and from an unfairly good-looking person at that, has his stomach do a funny little swoop. Then it occurs to him that maybe it wasn’t a compliment as much as a criticism of sorts; maybe Ashton just thinks he’s plain weird for wearing the outfits he does.

“Yeah, I… I don’t know,” he says eventually. “I just like nice clothes, I guess.”

Ashton’s lips tilts into a crooked smile. “I’ve noticed. I should get going, there’s a camera guy up on fourth who needs me, but it was nice bumping into you.” With a final smile, he steps past Luke and starts making his way down the hall. Hoisting his bag further up on his shoulder, Luke’s about to start moving again when Ashton’s voice calls out, “You look good like this, too, by the way, if you were wondering.” Luke whips around, but Ashton’s already disappeared around a corner, leaving Luke to stand there in the middle of the hallway, mouth slightly ajar.

While not entirely sure what to take from Ashton’s parting words, they still leave Luke in an uncommonly good mood that persists the entire day. Calum hunts him down at lunch time and drags him to the cafeteria, and while they eat their spaghetti and meatballs, Calum keeps asking what’s got him in such a good mood and why he looks like absolute shit. Luke answers the latter, but dodges the former; he doesn’t know how to explain, without sounding pathetic, that someone paid him a casual compliment four hours ago and that he’s still on cloud nine because of it.

He doesn’t see Ashton for the rest of the day, which is hardly a surprise, yet still leaves him feeling a little disappointed. The clock strikes four, and Luke packs up his things, turns off his computer and goes to the building’s entrance to wait for Calum. They both live a fifteen minute walk from work and so it is that they usually walk home together at the end of the day unless one of them has to work late.

Calum appears a few minutes later and immediately throws himself into a rant about how he doesn’t understand how anyone can expect him to get any work done whatsoever when the station keeps buying shitty cameras and then blame _him_ when they keep failing at the least opportune moments. Luke listens and chimes in with an occasional, “Hm, yeah,” and by the time Calum’s done complaining, they’ve reached Luke’s building.

“Still don’t wanna tell me why you were in such a good mood all day at work?” Calum asks as they draw to a halt. “The last time you slept in and had to go to work looking like a hobo, you were a right brat all day because of it.”

“I don’t look like a hobo,” Luke says. “And it’s nothing. Just… no, nothing.”

Calum narrows his eyes and takes a step closer to Luke. “Hold on,” he says slowly. “Did you get laid last night?”

“What?” Luke laughs. “You don’t think I’d have told you sooner if I did?”

“Well, how am I supposed to know?” Calum all but whines. “You show up looking like shit and you’re late, like maybe you didn’t fall asleep until, like, three o’clock and—”

Luke blows a heavy sigh through his lips and shakes his head. “I didn’t get laid, Calum.”

“Fine, keep your secrets,” Calum says as he starts walking again. “See you tomorrow!”

Luke stands there for a second longer before he smiles faintly and walks into his building.

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

“Sorry, Luke, but it’s a no.”

Luke leans back in his chair and puts his pencil down on the table in front of him. “It’d make for a great story,” he argues. “The political implications could be huge and—”

“And it’s too vague for now,” Daniel cuts him off in a tone that tells Luke the discussion is over. “We’d be grasping at straws at best, and that’s not what we do here. Bring it back to the table when it’s a little more solid, okay?”

Luke grinds his teeth as he feels several sympathetic glances thrown his way. “Fine, if you say so,” he says.

Daniel nods curtly. “Okay, that’s all, folks,” he says, then dismisses them all with a flick of his wrist. Luke wants to snap that wrist right now. Having his stories turned down is one thing, but to have stories he really believes in turned down is something else entirely.

Luke’s the first one out the door and he does his best not to stomp, because he doesn’t want to be perceived as a childish piece of shit, but it’s difficult. Back at his desk, he perches his elbows on the surface and leans his forehead in his hands, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. Daniel can be as negative as he wants; the story was _not_ vague, it had several solid points, and if executed correctly, it could have been one of the best stories Luke had ever brought the network. But _no_ , they’d be grasping at _straws_ and that’s not what _do_ here and—

“Who do you look like someone just force-fed you a particularly sour lemon?”

Luke whips his head around so fast he’s surprised his neck doesn’t break. Ashton’s standing by the cubicle wall, arms folded over his chest and an amused smile playing on his lips.

“Because Daniel’s a piece of shit,” Luke says, swivelling his chair around to face Ashton.

“Oh, yeah, he is,” Ashton agrees. “What’d he do?”

“Declined an amazing story I’d dug up.”

Ashton’s smile morphs into a full-on grin at that. “Used to getting your way, are you? Let me guess: You’re an only child.”

“Wrong and wrong, actually,” Luke says. “I’ve got two brothers and I’m used to my stories getting turned down from time to time, but this one had a ton of potential.”

Letting his smile fade slightly, Ashton nods. “I’m sorry, it’s gotta suck.”

“Yeah, it really does,” Luke says. Closing his eyes for a beat, he conjures up a smile. “So, what are you doing up here? Isn’t your place down on the ground floor?”

“It is,” Ashton says. “But I came to talk to you, actually. I wanted to ask you something.”

If Luke’s heart skips a beat at that, no one has to know. “Okay,” he says carefully while racking his brain to come up with a plausible explanation. The obvious one would be that Ashton’s here on work-related business, but Luke can’t quite figure out what a sound technician would need from him.

“Yeah. Remember that cabin-trip I won at the party back in July?”

Luke makes a sound that’s somewhere right between a moan and a cry. “Oh, please tell me you can’t go and you’ve decided to give the trip to little, old me,” he says.

“Not quite,” Ashton laughs. “No, I’ve been trying to find someone to take for a couple of weeks now, but no one I know is free that week, apparently, and I reckon going on Tinder and offer the chance to the first and best person I find would come off as a little creepy.”

“What, just shoot them a message and ask, ‘ _Hey, wanna go to a cabin in the mountains with me?_ ’ Maybe a little creepy, yeah,” Luke laughs. “But what does that have to do with me?”

“Well, I remember you saying you really wanted to go and you seem like a nice enough guy, so…”

It takes Luke a solid three seconds to take the words in, and when he does, his brain short circuits and he finds himself simply gaping up at Ashton. It’s not until Ashton starts looking a little worried that Luke rediscovers his ability to speak. “You— I— huh?” Admittedly, ‘speak’ might be a little too generous. “Okay, but— you— am I misunderstanding something, or are you asking me if I wanna go on vacation with you? To a cabin, in the mountains?”

“No, that is what I’m asking,” Ashton says with an amicable smile. “Are you interested?” Luke stares for another moment, trying to gather his thoughts enough to give a proper answer. Apparently, Ashton takes his silence as a negative thing, though, because after a bit, he draws his eyebrows together and says, “It’s not like a… date-thing, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m not hitting on you, I just didn’t wanna spend the whole week up there alone and, like I said, you seem like a nice guy, so I just thought I’d ask.”

“Oh,” Luke says, blinking up at Ashton. There’s something akin to disappointment simmering in his stomach, but he pushes it aside and smiles. “I really appreciate the offer and… I’d love to go, but I have to check to see if I can get a whole week off first. It shouldn’t be a problem, I still have a fair few days left from the summer. When is it?”

“Come Monday, actually,” Ashton says with a chuckle. “Sorry about the short notice.”

“Mond— but today’s Thursday,” Luke says, his eyes widening. “Shit, okay, I’ll just go talk to Daniel right away, then. Can I have your number or something, so I can let you know when I have an answer?”

Stuffing a hand in the pocket of his jeans, Ashton pulls out his phone, unlocks it, then hands it to Luke. “Plot in your number and I’ll shoot you a text,” he says.

Luke does as he’s told, admittedly with fingers that suddenly feel awfully clammy, then gives the phone back to Ashton. “Okay,” he says, a little stupidly. “I’ll just… go ask, then?”

“Do that,” Ashton says as he puts his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll text you later.” Without any further ado, he turns on his heel and walks away.

It takes Luke a solid twenty seconds before he’s able to stop staring into nothingness and actually get up and find his way to Daniel’s office. Peeking through the glass walls, Luke decides that Daniel doesn’t look too busy, so he knocks once and waits for a response. He gets in shape of a curt, “Yeah?” and draws a deep breath before he opens the door and steps inside.

“Hey,” he says as he closes the door behind himself and leans back against it.

Daniel sighs when he lays eyes on Luke. “Look, I’m sorry about saying no to your story,” he says. “It’s not that I didn’t like it, but—”

“It’s not that,” Luke says. Pressing his lips together, he continues, “I wanna ask you a favour.”

“A favour,” Daniel repeats.

“Yeah. I… I need next week off.”

“What?” Daniel frowns. “Since when do you ask for days off, much less a whole week?”

“I never have,” Luke says. “I’ve worked here for almost two years now and I’ve never asked for a day off and I’ve only taken a sick day once, which… which is one of the reasons I was hoping you’d say yes. I still have some vacation days from the summer I haven’t used, and I’d like to use them now.”

“Luke…”

“Fucking hell, Daniel, _please_.”

“Since when do you swear?”

Luke resists the urge to roll his eyes. “Since I stooped so low I started begging, apparently.”

Daniel leans back in his chair and loosens his tie, just the slightest bit. His eyes remain on luke, hard and considering, before he throws his hands up. “Fine, okay. Marty can cover for you, I suppose.”

Slumping forward with relief, Luke grins. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, yeah, get out of here and get back to work,” Daniel grunts, eyes back on his computer screen.

Luke doesn’t skip back to his desk, but it’s not far from it. Just as he sits down on his chair, his phone vibrates in his pocket, and the already stupid smile on his face only grows wider upon discovering that it’s a text that reads, ‘ _heyyy it’s ashton :)_ ’ As quickly as fingers are able to move across the screen, he types, ‘ _He said yes!_ ’

Putting the phone down on his desk, Luke leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. 

For the rest of the day, he can’t seem to stop smiling.

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_Monday_

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

Calum is acting like a needy puppy and Luke doesn’t really like it.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” he asks as he traipses around Luke’s bedroom, watching him toss clothes into a bag.

“I can’t believe you honest to God came over here at six thirty in the morning just to repeatedly ask me if I’m _sure I wanna do this_ ,” Luke says as he pulls a couple of sweaters from his closet and puts them in the bag.

“You didn’t give me much of a choice.” Luke can feel Calum’s wide eyes staring him down, all puppy-like and softly displeased. “You’re leaving in, like, less than an hour, and I have to be at work in less than _half_ an hour, so—”

“Did it ever occur to you that despite what you seem to think, I’m an adult who can make his own decisions?” Luke asks.

“That’s not the point,” Calum argues before throwing himself backwards onto Luke’s bed, almost squashing Uno in the process. “What if his intentions are, like, not honourable?”

“Jesus Christ, since when am I a teenage girl whose father is you?” Luke says. Zipping his bag up and putting it on the floor next to the door, he turns to look at Calum, who’s looking right back. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any impure intentions whatsoever, but even if he did… so what?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Calum barks as he sits up. “Do I really have you remind you that you’ve never—”

“No, you don’t have to remind me,” Luke snaps. “We’re done talking about this. Nothing’s gonna happen, I’ll only be gone for a week, I’m looking forward to all the relaxing I’m gonna do, and if you wanna continue being my friend, you’ll be excited for me.”

“I am, kind of, I’m just worried and… I don’t know,” Calum says. “Just don’t, like, do anything stupid, okay?”

Luke slumps his shoulders forward. “I appreciate the concern and all, but I’m gonna be fine, Cal. Now get out of here or you’re gonna be late for work.”

Calum grumbles and mutters profanities all the way to the entrance all and doesn’t stop until he’s gotten his shoes and jacket on and has given Luke a quick, but tight hug. “Have fun, then, and… yeah, have fun,” he says. “I’ll swing by and pick up Uno this afternoon.”

Once Calum’s gone, Luke checks the clock, only to realise that it’s only forty minutes or so before Ashton’s set to arrive, and he has yet to take a shower or eat breakfast. With a couple of curses directed at Calum for making him late, he jogs to the bathroom and sheds his pyjamas on the floor before jumping into the shower. The water’s not even properly hot yet, and he hisses as it washes over him, instantly creating goosebumps all over his skin. He works as fast as he can, but he’s never been a quick showerer, and by the time he’s dry and dressed, he’s only got about fifteen minutes left. With that in mind, his breakfast ends up being dry toast and a cup of too strong coffee that he scarves down in the kitchen while keeping his eyes on the clock on the wall.

It’s seven thirty on the dot when there’s a knock on the door, and in his hurry to open it, Luke accidentally stumbles over Uno. The result is that he lands on the floor and Uno meows loudly and unhappily as he scampers off into the bedroom to seek refuge from the death trap that is Luke’s legs. Wincing at the dull ache in his knees, Luke staggers to his feet and goes to open the door.

Ashton throws one look at him, then asks, “Are you really unhappy about going on this trip with me or has something else got you down?”

“I stumbled over my cat and landed on the floor.”

“Bit of a clutz, huh?” Ashton says.

“Long limbs,” Luke shrugs, lifting one foot for emphasis.

“No kidding,” Ashton says. He gazes at Luke’s legs for a moment before looking back up. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Just gotta get my bag and lock up.”

“Okay, I’ll just wait in the car. I’m parked right outside.”

“Parking illegally, are we?” Luke asks, wiggling his eyebrows. “Look at me, going away with a bad boy for the week.”

Ashton laughs, but doesn’t respond before he disappears into the lift. Traipsing to his bedroom, Luke grabs his bag from the floor and gives Uno a quick cuddle before returning to the entrance hall to put shoes and a jacket on. As he locks his front door, he can only hope that he packed appropriately; he checked the weather forecast and everything, but aren’t the mountains a little fickle when it comes to weather? They might be. Probably. Perhaps. Luke has no idea whatsoever.

Putting his bag in the boot of the car, Luke slides into the passenger seat and fastens his seatbelt, and then they’re off. The radio’s on, playing one song after the other, sporadically interrupted by commercials, but other than that, it’s quiet. Luke’s fine with it, though, because it’s not an uncomfortable silence by any means; he throws an occasional sideways glance at Ashton, and he seems to somehow always be smiling and drumming lightly on the steering wheel to the beat of whichever song’s playing.

The ride’s almost four hours long, and they make infrequent smalltalk and stop once at a gas station to buy coffee, and it’s nice. It’s comfortable and relaxing, and at some point, Luke doses off. It’s nearing noon when Ashton announces that according to the GPS, they’re almost there. Thanks to his severe lack of sense of direction, Luke has no idea where they are or even what state they’re in, but Ashton doesn’t seem to have a doubt in his mind as he steers the car up into the mountains. As the forest gets denser and denser, Luke starts wondering if maybe Calum was right, maybe Ashton _does_ have less than honourable intentions and that said intentions include murdering Luke.

Just as he starts considering potential escape routes, the forest suddenly thins out, though, and opens up to reveal a large parking lot and what Luke supposes is the cabin. There’s one slight problem, though.

“That… that’s not a cabin,” he says as Ashton stops the car. “That’s a house. A really, really nice house.”

“Huh, yeah,” Ashton muses. They both sit there, looking at the so-called cabin through the windshield until Ashton removes his seatbelt and steps out of the car.

Following Ashton’s example, Luke walks around the back of the car and grabs his bag, hoists it up on his shoulder, then looks at the cabin again. It’s two stories high and the design’s modernistic with a combination of wooden beams and walls, and large windows facing in every direction.

“Who even owns this?” he asks as he follows right behind Ashton towards the house.

“A company, can’t remember the name,” Ashton says. He’s searching through his jacket pockets and lets out a triumphant noise as he pulls out a keychain. Unlocking the front door, he continues, “I searched them up online, and they’ve got this whole thing going with cabins in nice places. They rent them out to people and apparently it’s pretty lucrative.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Luke says absentmindedly as he steps inside and looks around. Leaving their bags on the floor, they both kick off their shoes and hang up their jackets before wandering further into the cabin. Cabin. Right. Luke sniggers inwardly at the terminology. It’s a damn house, not a cabin.

“Well, damn,” Ashton says as they reach the end of a hallway and it reveals what Luke can only assume is the lounge. The entire wall ahead is glass, and he can make out a large patio outside. His eyes are focused on the view beyond the patio, though. Endless hills and mountains, covered by colourful forest in honour of autumn. Here and there, patches of fog break up the view, but in Luke’s opinion, it only makes the view more stunning. The sun’s high on the sky, granting extra saturation to everything, and Luke can only imagine what it’ll look like in the afternoon.

“I’ve never… seen anything like this,” he mumbles as he walks up close to the windows and stares outside, completely awestruck.

“Me neither,” Ashton says as he stops right next to Luke. “I know what we’re doing later, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Hottub,” Ashton says, and when Luke looks at him, he’s smiling widely. “We’ll grab some snacks or wine or something and just relax.”

“Not the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Luke says. 

Turning around to get a proper look at the lounge, he spots the fireplace, which is located vis-à-vis the row of windows. A large sofa group is standing in front of a flat screen TV to their left, and the entire area is covered by a huge, soft-looking rug. On the other end of the room is another sofa group, albeit smaller, split up by what to Luke looks like a well-assorted bookshelf. The walls are partly covered by moss green wallpaper, partly by white wooden beams, while the floor is all dark wood. Miscellaneous sources of lighting are placed all throughout the room, and there’s an array of plants, modern art and even a couple of weird sculptures for decoration.

“I wonder how much this place actually costs per night,” he thinks out loud.

“No idea,” Ashton says. “I paid twenty bucks in raffle tickets, so in my mind, that’s what it costs.”

“What, twenty bucks divided by six?” Luke laughs. “Quite the optimist, you are.”

“Always look at the bright side of life, babe,” Ashton says before he strolls across the room to continue exploring, probably completely oblivious to the fact that Luke’s rooted to the floor and smiling like an idiot, both thanks to a jokingly uttered nickname.

The rest of the house consists of a spacious, well-equipped kitchen with a full fridge and full cupboards and drawers, a medium-sized bathroom in the hallway, right next to a bedroom with a single bed. On the second floor there’s one large bathroom, complete with a bathtub and what Ashton recognises as a steam shower, two master bedrooms, both of which are directly connected to the bathroom, and another smaller bedroom. Everything’s beautiful and modern, and as they descend down the stairs after having dropped their respective bags in one master bedroom each, Luke moans that he wants to live here forever, to which Ashton responds with a grunt that Luke interprets as agreement.

The first snag they hit is the realisation that while the kitchen is full of high quality groceries, neither of them really knows how to cook from scratch. Ashton admits to mostly ordering dinner when he’s at home, and Luke admits to often resorting to frozen pizza or just skipping dinner all together. They’re standing in the kitchen, the fridge wide open, and look at each other for a split second before Ashton bursts out in hysterical laughs and Luke cries, dramatically, that they’re going to starve to death within two days.

“Maybe we can just eat raw broccoli and uncooked eggs for a week,” Ashton says in between fits of laughter.

In another display of dramatics, Luke drops to the floor and lies there like an oversized starfish as he moans, “I can’t believe you brought me up here to actually kill me.”

That sends Ashton into another fit of laughter, and he leans against the counter as he’s seemingly struggling to stay on his feet. “I’m very creative when it comes to methods of murdering,” he wheezes.

“Alert Stanley Kubrick,” Luke says with an honest to God _giggle_ that he just can’t help. “I’ve got a plot for him that can rival that of _The Shining_.”

Ashton collapses on his knees to the floor then, and presses his forehead against a cupboard and he continues to laugh. “Boys gone crazy from lack of nourishment,” he gasps. “They— they try to cook, but wind up hunting each other down with the kitchen knives.”

“Heeere’s hungry!”

And Ashton falls fully to the floor, and they lie there side by side, laughing until their stomachs ache and they’re struggling to breathe and Luke has no idea how much time has even passed. When they’ve eventually managed to calm down, remnants of laughter are still fixed on Ashton’s face, and Luke reckons it’d be right easy to set him off again if he wanted to.

“Okay, so… how bad are you at cooking?” he asks instead as he rises to his feet and jumps up to sit on the counter. “Because I’m proper awful. I tried making mashed potatoes a while back and they wound up tasting like saltwater.”

Standing up, Ashton says, “Well, I actually _can_ make mashed potatoes and they turn out pretty fucking good, so I guess that makes me the winner.” He frowns, then adds, “Or loser, I guess.”

“Definitely the latter,” Luke says. “Guess who’s on cooking-duty all week?”

“Fine, then you’re on cleaning-duty.”

“I don’t know how to clean, either. Tried it once, accidentally set the whole house on fire.”

“You’d make an awful house husband.”

“I know, it’s the greatest sorrow of my life.”

They spend a solid hour looking up simple recipes on Ashton’s phone, and they’re both relieved to discover that the kitchen’s so well stocked that they have everything they need to make everything they discover except for a couple of dishes that neither of them were too interested in anyway.

“When do you usually eat dinner?” Ashton asks as he dots down their Saturday dinner on a sheet of paper. “I don’t usually eat until nine-ish, but if you think that’s too late, we can eat earlier.”

“Nah, I like having late dinners,” Luke says. “Besides, you’re the one who has to cook, so I don’t feel like I should complain.”

“You know what? I’m gonna allow you to have your own opinions.”

Luke laughs. “Very progressive of you, gotta say.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Ashton says as he rises from the dinner table and hangs the paper on the fridge, using a magnet. Looking at the digital watch on the stove, which shows 2:36pm, he rubs his eyes. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a nap.”

“Hm, yeah, nap sounds good,” Luke says. “Alarm or no alarm?”

“If I don’t set an alarm, I’m gonna sleep until eleven o’clock, so...”

Luke nods as he stands up and stretches his arms over his head. “Alarm it is, then.”

“Hm. Meet back here or in the lounge or… whatever, at four thirty?”

“Mhm. Lead the way,” Luke says, gesturing towards the doorway. He follows Ashton up the stairs, and turns right as Ashton turns left, bidding him goodbye with a wave and a smile, both of which Ashton returns.

The large bed is every bit as comfortable as Luke could’ve hoped for, he decides after he’s slid out his jeans and crawled in under the covers; the mattress is soft and the sheets smell fresh and clean and the pillow’s just the perfect mixture of fluffy and sturdy. He falls asleep with a slight smile on his lips and to the thought of home cooked dinner and the spa.

When he awakes, he feels disoriented beyond belief, and doesn't quite understand where he is at first. It’s only when he opens his eyes and has a proper look around that he remembers. The next thing he realises is that what’s woken him up is a gentle hand on his arm and a softly uttered, “Luke?”

“Huh?” he mumbles as he flips over on his back and blinks until his vision clears and he sees Ashton standing over him. Attempting to rub the sleep out of his eyes, he clears his throat. “Did I oversleep?”

“It’s almost seven o’clock, so I’d say,” Ashton snorts.

“What? But we—” Luke cuts himself off when remembering that he forgot to set an alarm before he fell asleep. Smiling sheepishly, he says, “Sorry, I didn’t set an alarm. You could’ve woken me sooner, though.”

“I was gonna, but you were sleeping really heavily, snoring and all, so…”

“Sexy,” Luke says dryly, ignoring how his cheeks flaring up in embarrassment at the thought of Ashton having seen and heard him snore.

“Oh, yeah, you were drooling and everything, it was practically straight out of a porno,” Ashton says with a serious nod.

Luke groans as he flips over on his front and buries his face in the pillow.

“You’re easy to fluster, aren’t you?” Ashton sniggers. “Good to know. Well, I’ll be downstairs whenever you’re ready.”

Waiting until he hears Ashton leave and close the door, Luke rises from the bed and hastily digs through his bag to find a pair of pyjama bottoms. Like hell if he’s going to strut around in skinny jeans or leather pants or something equally uncomfortable when he’s on vacation, even if said vacation takes place in the presence of an attractive guy. With no idea what his hair’s doing, but with the knowledge that his face is probably pale and puffy, he walks downstairs and finds Ashton in the lounge. He’s curled up on the couch, channel surfing with a concentrated look on his face, and Luke’s relieved to notice that he’s not the only one who’s pulled out his pyjama bottoms.

“Anything fun on?” Luke says as he sits down in the corner opposite of Ashton.

“Not even a little bit,” Ashton grunts. “The good news is that dinner’s ready in a few.”

“What? Thought you said you didn’t eat dinner until nine-ish.”

Ashton slides a little further down on the couch and says, “I was hungry.”

Just to be a little shit, Luke would quite like to continue arguing, but truth to be told, he’s quite hungry himself. So, they sit there and watch the news, which are all depressing, until something beeps in the distance and Ashton all but runs to the kitchen. As he waits for Ashton to return, Luke tries to remember what was even on the dinner plan for today. Something chicken, perhaps? He can’t recall.

The answer’s delivered to him in the shape of a plate and utensils when Ashton emerges from the kitchen. He only has to take one look to determine that it is indeed chicken, along with what he thinks are wokked veggies and a sauce that he wouldn’t be able to identify even if he tried. Never one to turn up his nose just because he doesn’t recognise what’s on his plate, Luke pokes his fork into a piece of carrot, dips it into the sauce, and puts it in his mouth.

“Hey, this is really good,” he says as he chews.

“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” Ashton says, albeit with a pleased smile.

Swallowing, Luke says, “You told me you couldn’t cook, but this is great. Don’t blame me for being surprised. What even is this sauce?”

“No idea,” Ashton says as he scoops food up on his fork. “I just threw together some shit and hoped for the best.”

“You’re joking, right?” Luke looks at Ashton, who just hums around a mouthful of food, and laughs, a little incredulous. “If you can make a sauce from scratch without using a recipe and actually have it turn out edible, you’re not nearly as bad a cook as you said.”

“Tell me that again after you’ve had to survive on my cooking for a week, and we’ll see,” Ashton says. His eyes are firmly directed at the TV, but Luke can’t help but notice that his cheeks carry just the slightest bit more colour than they did a minute ago.

They finish their meal in silence, and once they’re done and Luke’s carried the dishes to the kitchen and put them in the sink to soak, they start channel surfing again in an attempt to find something decent to watch. Luke figures out the WiFi password after taking a quick look at the papers Ashton brought with him, and once he connects to it on his phone and goes on YouTube, he realises that the TV has a Chromecast.

“What? For real?” Ashton says, immediately dropping the remote to the couch and all but hurling himself at Luke to take a look at his phone screen. When he notices the cast-symbol in the upper corner of the video Luke’s opened, he groans with relief. “Oh, thank fuck. Wanna watch something decent, then? Or listen to music?”

Luke’s a little too busy focusing on the fact that Ashton’s lying on his lap to respond immediately. He manages to focus after a few seconds, getting out a somewhat awkward, “I… yeah, no, I mean, whatever you want. Doesn’t matter to me.”

Propping himself up on one elbow while his other lower arm remains resting on Luke’s stomach, Ashton grins as he grabs the phone from Luke’s hand and starts doing God knows what. Luke doesn’t care much. All he cares about right there and then is that he’s got a lap-full of handsome guy and that he wants to put an arm around Ashton’s shoulders and pull him closer. It’s ridiculous, really, because he barely knows Ashton, but… he’s warm and solid and he’s already made Luke laugh several times, and now he’s all up in his space, somewhere he wound up without a second thought by the looks of it, and Luke… Luke has no idea what to do with himself. So, he just remains where he is, stiff as a board, as he waits for Ashton to finish whatever it is he’s doing.

“I went with music,” Ashton says eventually, quite unnecessarily as music’s already playing from the TV. Looking up at Luke, he asks, “Have you heard this?”

Luke tears his eyes off Ashton to look at the TV, and quickly concludes that he has no idea what they’re listening to. “Can’t say I have,” he says.

“It’s a cover of Beyoncé’s _Halo_ by LP,” Ashton says. “She’s absolutely incredible, like… whenever you think she’s gone as high as she can with her voice, you’re proven wrong, and her voice never sounds strained at all and I have no idea how she does it. All her songs are amazing, really, but this one remains my favourite.”

As the song plays on, Luke slowly starts understanding why it’s Ashton’s favourite, because it’s truly something else. They sit there and watch the video, listen as LP’s voice vibrates throughout the room, and Luke goes more and more wide-eyed. Before he knows it, he’s relaxing against the couch and Ashton’s still all up in his space, body resting against Luke’s as he’s focusing on the TV. Unless one’s counting Calum’s occasional hugs and off-handed butt-slaps, Luke can’t recall the last time he had another human being this close to him, but it feels good. Secure, in a way.

As if he’s heard Luke’s thoughts, Ashton tilts his head back as _Halo_ is exchanged for _Lost on You_. “Is this okay?” he asks. “I’ve been told I invade people’s personal spaces too often, so just tell me if you want me to move.”

Luke smiles, biting the inside of his bottom lip as he does. “No, it’s alright,” he says.

“You sure?” Ashton asks, eyes wide as he looks at Luke. It might be the angle, but in that moment, his eyes look unbelievably big and innocent, and Luke has to force himself to look away.

Shifting his arm, which has started to grow numb, he hesitantly flings it over Ashton’s torso and prays that it comes off as a casual gesture. “I’m sure,” he says.

Ashton stills completely for a moment, not even breathing by the looks of it. As Luke starts feeling vaguely nauseous and is about to pull his arm back, however, Ashton’s entire body seems to go lax. Luke can’t do anything but look as Ashton places his head on Luke’s chest and clutches onto his waist, releasing a content sigh.

“Probably should’ve warned you about it before we left,” Ashton says, voice partly muffled against Luke’s sweater. “I’m a cuddler. It’s pretty bad, apparently, if my friends and exes are to be believed.”

Luke can’t find it in himself to do anything but tighten his hold around Ashton and do all he can to resist pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Lucky for you, I’m not scared of cuddles,” he says.

“Hm, good,” Ashton says as he somehow manages to press his face even further into Luke’s sweater.

They stay like that for song after song, and after a while, Luke stops noticing. He focuses on the music, occasionally mocks Ashton for his choice in queued songs (“Sarah McLachlan, really?”) and receives a harsh poke to his ribs in return. It happens at some point, though Luke’s too distracted by the music to realise, that his hand that isn’t resting on Ashton’s chest has started playing with his hair. The realisation hits him when there’s a moment of silence between two songs, and he quickly retracts.

“Why’d you stop?” Ashton asks from where his face is rested on Luke’s chest. “Felt nice.”

“Oh,” Luke says. His heart’s beating faster than usual when he, somewhat hesitantly, brings his hand back to Ashton’s hair. Threading his fingers through the soft strands, he’s slightly encouraged when Ashton leans into it. Smiling despite his treacherously quick heartbeat, he says, “I get what your friends and exes mean.”

“Hm?”

“Your… cuddling-needs are pretty bad.”

“You said you didn’t mind.”

“I don’t. Just pointing it out.”

“Hm, well, you’ve got nice hands,” Ashton mumbles. “Nice body to lie on. ‘S comfortable.”

Luke blinks, then swallows; how, exactly, is he supposed to interpret that? He tells himself that it doesn’t mean anything at all, that apparently Ashton’s known to be a cuddly piece of shit, but to hold onto that thought when they’re pressed close like this is difficult. It feels intimate, is all, and Luke doesn’t think he’s been this intimate with anyone in at least a year. It doesn’t help that that particular situation ended with an awkward conversation and his front door being slammed shut, so he prefers not to think about it.

“Okay,” he says in the end. “Are you… I mean, do you really get this close with your friends?”

“Not unless I’m drunk,” Ashton chuckles, and he sounds sleepy.

“Then why— I mean, why are you— you know, with me?”

“‘Cause you said it was alright.”

“Right.”

Ashton doesn’t respond at once, and Luke starts wondering if he’s fallen asleep. But then he asks, “You sure you’re okay with it? You’re asking a lot of questions.”

“Yeah, I— no, it’s alright. Just not used to it, I guess.”

“What, cuddles?”

“Suppose.”

“That’s sad.”

Luke frowns and gives Ashton’s head a gentle flick. “Hey…”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Ashton snorts softly. “Just… you know, cuddles are nice. Between friends, when you’re dating someone or in a relationship, after sex, whatever.”

Luke’s heart drops a few inches at that, and all he can muster up the presence of mind to respond with is to tighten his arm around Ashton a little. Ashton doesn’t seem to notice, though, as he falls back into silence, breathing deeply and steadily against Luke’s chest.

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

_Tuesday_

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

When Luke wakes up the next morning, he’s once again confused as to where he is for a moment before realisation dawns on him. Stretching languidly, he grabs his phone from the nightstand and unplugs the charger as he starts checking his notifications. A few spam emails (he promises himself to go through his inbox and block certain companies when he gets back home), a Facebook notification because Jack’s tagged him in something, and three texts from Calum.

‘ _You okay?_ ’ the first one reads, while the other one, received twenty minutes after the first one says, ‘ _OMG are you dead?!_ ’ The third one says, ‘ _Oh SHITTING FUCK you ARE dead!_ ’

Flipping over to lie on his front, Luke starts typing out a response. ‘ _I’m fine!! I’m on vacation, so don’t expect me to be up at 6am, you fuckwit!_ ’

Rolling out of bed, Luke grabs a clean sweater and his pyjama bottoms from the night before and pulls them both on. He doesn’t bother with underwear or socks for now; he’s going to have to take a shower after breakfast anyway. Having no idea if Ashton’s even up yet, he does his best to tread lightly down the stairs, but when he’s halfway down, his nose catches a whiff of coffee and his ears pick up the sound of the morning news.

He finds Ashton in the kitchen, busy pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Luke stops dead in his tracks in the doorway leading into the kitchen, because the fact of the matter is that Ashton’s wearing a pair of trackies and that’s it. Despite minimal effort, his back- and shoulder muscles are flexing as he moves about the kitchen, and Luke, creepy as he apparently is, simply stands there and stares until Ashton spots him.

“Oh, hey,” he says brightly. “Coffee?”

“I— yeah, thanks,” Luke says, nodding jerkily. “How do you make it?”

“Six solid spoons per litre,” Ashton says as he grabs another cup from the cupboard. Pouring coffee into it, he turns around to hand it to Luke, and it’s all Luke can do to _not_ stare at Ashton’s abdomen. He catches a quick glimpse, though, and all he wants there and then is for Ashton to put on more clothes.

“Thanks,” he manages to get out as he accepts the cup. In a courageous attempt at diverting his attention, he takes a sip of the coffee. It’s too hot and his lips sting, but the strength is perfect, and he lets Ashton know as much.

“Thanks, but you might wanna give it a couple of minutes before you drink it,” Ashton laughs as he takes his own cup and walks past Luke in direction of the lounge.

Luke follows in his steps, but makes sure to keep his eyes on anything but Ashton’s back as they walk, and when Ashton sits down on one end of the couch, Luke chooses the other end. It has to do with not putting himself in harm’s way unless necessary, is all.

“You suddenly afraid of me?” Ashton asks after they’ve watched the morning news for a bit. 

Blinking, Luke asks, “What?”

There’s a twinkle in Ashton’s eyes as he looks at Luke. “Last night it was all cuddles and now you’re sitting as far away from me as you can.”

“Oh, I…” Luke trails off, and has another sip of too hot coffee. “What, you want a cuddle right now?”

“Nah, it’s more of an evening-thing with me. Just wanted to know if you were weirded out by the memory of it in daylight.”

“No, I... I mean, why would I be?” Luke asks as he takes another sip; he wonders briefly if any parts of his tongue will be left by the end of the week.

“Dunno,” Ashton says as he focuses his attention back on the TV, where videos of a forest fire are currently being displayed. “All cuddled up with a guy on a couch, maybe you have a weird ‘no homo’-thing going on or something.”

Luke sputters around a mouthful of coffee; he manages to swallow most of it down, but a few drops land on his sweater. “No, I— no, definitely not,” he says, coughing. After a moment of contemplation, he adds, “I’m not— I mean, I’m gay, so that’s not… there’s no ‘no homo’-thing.”

Ashton eyes him for a moment, then shrugs his shoulders and grins. “All the homo, then. Gotcha.”

Stretching his legs out on the couch, Luke laughs. “Yeah, just… all of it. None of it left for anyone else.”

“Pretty greedy of you, gotta say.”

“Greedy, spoiled, whiny, impatient… I’m just the absolute worst. You’ll see.”

“Can’t wait.”

As the news continues telling them all about the forest fires and what’s being done to get them under control, Luke finishes his coffee and goes to fetch himself another cup. Once he returns and is about to sit down, he notices that Ashton’s holding out his own cup, smiling up at Luke with wide, faux-innocent eyes. Muttering something about feeling like a servant, Luke grabs the cup and returns to the kitchen, filling it to the very brim before bringing it back to Ashton.

“Death by coffee-burns is real,” Ashton says as he accepts the cup and carefully raises it to his lips, slurping in coffee until it’s no longer threatening to spill.

“Careful what you wish for,” Luke says as he gets comfortable.

“Oh, so you’re like one of those… evil genies?” Ashton asks. “If I don’t specify very, very clearly what I want, you’ll grant my wishes, but with some awful twists?”

Luke hums in confirmation. “Glad you understand.”

It starts raining around noon. Ashton discovers a pile of thick blankets in the closet in the entrance hall, and tosses one at Luke before wrapping himself in another. He looks like a burrito, Luke thinks, and when he says so out loud, Ashton’s only response is to sink deeper into the blanket until only the top half of his face is visible. While Ashton continues cocooning, Luke leaves his blanket on the couch and steps out on the balcony. It’s quite huge, really, at least seventy square metres he reckons. While there’s a roof over it, the wind carries a few drops of rain onto Luke as he pads over to the railing and leans against it, taking in the view.

There’s something almost mythical about how nature looks in this kind of weather, Luke thinks. Everything in the distance is blurry thanks to the rain, and thick fog obscures large sections of the scenery. Though the colourful leaves are still visible, they’re less vibrant than they were yesterday, when the sun was out; duller, yet in some ways even more beautiful. It’s solemn, in a way, and Luke thinks to himself that he finds it interesting how nature and weather in so many ways mimics the human condition.

Lost in thought, Luke’s only distantly aware of the sound of the door opening and Ashton stepping out. “How are you not freezing your balls off?” Ashton asks as he joins Luke by the railing.

“They haven’t dropped yet, so they’re all nice and cosy up there.”

“Disturbing, but good to know,” Ashton says soberly.

Tipping his head to look at him, Luke bursts out laughing when he realises that Ashton’s still wrapped up in his blanket. “Oh, look, the fluffy cocoon’s standing now,” he says.

“Damn straight it is,” Ashton says. “I repeat: How are you not freezing your balls off?”

Luke shrugs. “Dunno. I’ve never been bothered by the cold, really. It’s nice, makes me feel good.”

“Clearly I’m vacationing with a crazy person,” Ashton mutters as he wraps the blanket tighter around himself. “I’m more of a summer-person myself. Always loved summers growing up.”

“You can’t honestly tell me you miss Australian summers,” Luke says, grimacing. “I mean, I miss a lot of things about home, but not the summers.”

“Nah, I don’t miss those, I’m good with American summers,” Ashton says as his eyes drift back and forth, taking in the landscape. “How long have you been living here, anyway?”

“Two years, give or take,” Luke says. “You?”

“One year, give or take.” Blinking at Luke, Ashton smiles. “I miss it. Home, I mean. But I was offered this position and it was too good an opportunity to pass up, so… here I am.”

“Yeah, same,” Luke says. “The network was hiring for a ton of different positions, and Calum and I happened to stumble across the ad when we were fucking around one day, right? And God knows how or why, but we were both hired and then a couple of months later, we packed up all our things, jumped on a plane and never looked back.”

“But you miss home?”

Luke sighs, making a face. “Sometimes. Mostly my family, but also just that feeling of being _home_ , if that makes sense? I love it here, I really do, but it’ll never be home in the same way as Australia.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Ashton says, a thoughtful crease forming between his eyebrows. “And I think it’s only natural. You’ve got all these memories connected to Australia, all these associations and experiences from growing up, and you’ll never have that relationship with the US, so… yeah, it makes sense. Do you get to go home often?”

“Only once since I moved here, but my parents have been to visit twice, and my brothers once.”

“Oh, yeah, you mentioned having two brothers. Older or younger?”

“Both older, Jack by three years, Ben by four. What about you?”

“I’ve got two younger half-siblings, Lauren and Harry.” A shadow seems to fall over Ashton’s face at the mention of his siblings, and he gnaws on his bottom lip. “They relied a lot on me for… everything, so I hated leaving them behind when I moved here.”

“Oh,” Luke says. Hesitating for a moment, he says, tentatively, “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

Ashton smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Not an exciting one, just parental figures being distant and often focusing more on themselves than on their kids.” Straightening up, Ashton shakes his head once, as if to clear his head, and laughs curtly. “This conversation took a depressing turn. Wanna find a movie to watch? I’ve got HBO and Netflix, so it should be possible to find something semi-interesting.”

They spend the entire afternoon lying on the couch while watching _The Haunting of Hill House_ because Ashton nearly has an aneurism when Luke admits to never having seen it. While Ashton’s transfixed on the series, Luke does his best to not reveal that he absolutely _loathes_ anything in the horror genre. He’s jumpy, is all, so every time something even remotely frightening appears on screen, his heart threatens to beat its way straight out his chest. Ashton doesn’t seem to notice, though, so Luke braves through episode after episode, and focuses on the fact that the plot’s intriguing and the characters fascinating. If only the horror aspects could be dialled down, he thinks mournfully.

Ashton drags himself off the couch to cook dinner when the clock strikes seven thirty. Luke can’t remember the last time he spent an entire day on the couch, especially not in the company of someone other than Uno, but he’s not about to complain. Some sort of thai-inspired veggie soup is on the menu, and once again, Luke finds himself pleasantly surprised by Ashton’s cooking skills.

“Clearly you lied to me yesterday,” he says after swallowing down a mouthful. “You made it sound like you were as bad as me in the kitchen, but you’re, like, a hundred levels above me.”

“In my defense, I didn’t know that I was,” Ashton says. “I’m as surprised as you. Can’t say I hate being in the kitchen, though, so I might actually exchange some of that take-out I always get for home cooked meals when we get home.”

They eat while watching the show, and Luke only jumps so badly he spills once, and he’s quite proud of himself. Ashton sniggers from the other end of the couch, and Luke only barely manages to resist throwing a pillow at him. Afterwards, Luke feels sluggish and heavy, his belly pleasantly warm from the soup, and he simply lies there in an entirely unattractive position that probably gives him four extra chins while waiting to regain a sliver of energy.

“You look like Jabba the Hutt,” Ashton remarks.

“Thanks,” Luke says.

“You’re welcome.”

“Does that make you Leia? Wanna put on a skimpy bikini and be my prisoner?”

“Sure, just gimme a minute and I’ll get changed.”

“Cool.”

“Hm. So, wanna test the spa? We forgot yesterday.”

“Speak for yourself, I didn’t forget anything,” Luke says as he sits up with a grunt. “But you just kept snuffling against my sweater and didn’t seem interested in moving, so…”

“I _wasn’t_ interested in moving,” Ashton says. “I was comfortable, why would I wanna move?” Not waiting for Luke to respond, he stands up, tossing his blanket aside. “I’ll go see if I can figure out how the thing works, you just stay here and continue being lazy.”

Luke shrugs. “Okay. Have fun.”

Ashton lets out something akin to a shriek when he steps outside, followed by a loud, “Fuck, it’s cold!” Luke giggles and pulls his blanket up to his chest.

It doesn’t take more than a few minutes before Ashton comes back inside, his face adorned by a triumphant smile. “Figured it out,” he says as he walks towards the stairs. “Get your swimmers!”

A little reluctant to leave his spot, Luke grunts as he rises from the couch and follows Ashton up the stairs. In the process of finding his swimmers, he ends up throwing most of his clothes on the floor. After he’s stripped down and gotten changed, he stuffs everything back in the bag, ignoring the fact that it’s going to be a nightmare to find anything in there later.

He exits the bedroom at the same time as Ashton exits his. As he stops in his tracks, he’s suddenly hit with the realisation that very soon, he’s going to be in the presence of a half-naked, soaking wet man who he may or may not have already started growing fond of, and that’s… Luke doesn’t know what that is. It’s something, for sure.

“No, hey, hey,” Ashton says loudly when Luke starts moving towards the stairs.

Luke blinks. “What?”

“Shower first, you dimwit,” Ashton says, nodding towards the bathroom.

“Huh? I showered earlier. So did you.”

“That was hours ago,” Ashton says as he grabs a hold of Luke’s lower arm and pulls him into the bathroom. “You’ve been eating, sweating, farting and God knows what else since then.”

“I haven’t— oh, Jesus,” Luke says, rolling his eyes. “Fine. At least get out of here in the meantime.”

“You don’t have to get naked, just rinse off in your swimmers, it’s fine,” Ashton says. Turning on the water, he waits the two or so seconds it takes to heat up, then steps into the cubicle. Luke just stands there, being creepy for the second time that day, as he watches the water cascade down Ashton’s body. His tanned, toned body. Before he can land himself in an embarrassing situation, Luke walks over to the sink and pretends to meticulously wash his hands while he waits for Ashton to finish up. It looks ridiculous and he’s very much aware of it, but he has to do _something_ and this seems like the best option.

“Alright, your turn,” Ashton says as he pads over to the cupboard under the sink and pulls out two large towels, wrapping one around himself and leaving the other on the counter next to the sink. Exiting the room, he adds, “I’ll just go jump in.”

Quite relieved that Ashton didn’t decide to stay to watch him shower, Luke makes quick work of rinsing his body and his hair before grabbing the towel Ashton laid out for him, wrapping it around himself and heading downstairs. Ashton has found himself a corner spot in the spa, enveloped by hot, bubbling water up to his chest. His head is leaned back against a cushion, eyes closed, his neck on full display.

Luke winces for a moment at the sudden heat when he puts a foot in, and halts for a moment to let his body get used to the sudden temperature change before he puts his other foot in as well and slowly lowers himself down. Sighing contently, he stretches his legs to their full length, and jumps a little when his foot makes contact with what he quickly realises is Ashton’s calf.

“If you wanna flirt, you can just say so,” Ashton says without opening his eyes. “No need to poke me with your freakishly long legs like a middle-schooler.”

“Me and my freakishly long legs prefer to work together when we’re flirting, thank you very much.”

“Very well, carry on, then,” Ashton hums.

“What, you _want_ me to flirt with you?” Luke laughs, but it feels somewhat forced. “Way to give a guy false hope. First you want cuddles, now you wanna be flirted with; what’s next?”

Ashton grins, but still neither opens his eyes nor lifts his head. “A mind-blowing round in bed.”

Luke chokes on his own spit and it takes him a little while to stop coughing. By the time he has, Ashton’s sat up straight and is eyeing him with a mixture of worry and amusement.

“How are you so easy to fluster?” he asks once Luke has wiped the tears out of his eyes and returned to a comfortable position.

“What, you want me to psycho-analyse myself, here and now?” Luke asks.

“That’d be of great help to me in understanding you, so… yeah, go ahead.”

Shaking his head, Luke laughs. “I’m not ‘ _so easy to fluster_ ’, you just caught me by surprise. Believe it or not, it’s not every day that people say things like… that, to me, joke or not.”

“How come?”

“I— what?” Luke laughs again. “ _Why_ don’t people tell me every day that they want me to… give them a mind-blowing round in bed? No idea, but as soon as we get home, I’ll take a stroll around town and ask some random people on the street.”

“Do that,” Ashton says with an approving nod.

“Watch as I get arrested for sexually harassing half of Atlanta’s population.”

“Or you’ll get lucky and find a cute boy who says he’d love to take you home right there and then.”

A blush creeps up Luke’s cheeks at that. “Sure,” he says as he closes his eyes and leans back, mostly to avoid having to see Ashton’s reaction, whatever it may be.

“What’s so weird about that?” Ashton asks after a while, nudging Luke’s leg with his foot.

“Nothing weird about it,” Luke says as casually as he can manage. “Just… no, nothing weird.”

“Okay,” Ashton says, and while he doesn’t sound completely convinced, he doesn’t push the matter. Luke’s grateful.

See, it’s not that he’s _ashamed_ , per say, but people’s reactions when they find out that Luke, with his twenty-four years of experience on planet Earth, has yet to engage in any sort of sexual activity with someone other than himself, are extremely polarised. Some are supportive and understanding, some react with extreme incredulousness or ridicule, and some simply don’t believe him. So far, Luke hasn’t gotten the impression that Ashton’s the type of guy who’s likely to react negatively in any way, but he’d rather not risk it. And it’s not like it matters anyway; as far as Luke knows, Ashton has no interest in having sex with him, so why is there any reason he needs to know? Actually, even if he did have any interest in having sex with Luke, would he need to know? He’d probably realise when it became evident that Luke had little to no clue what he was doing, but… it hardly matters, and Luke drags himself back to reality before he falls too deep into his own thoughts.

“I don’t think I’ve gone anywhere for vacation since… June over three years ago,” Ashton says at some point. His forehead carries a pensive frown, but his eyes are on Luke. “And that was way before I moved here.”

“How come?” Luke asks; he tries to imagine not going anywhere for vacation in over three years, and the privileged brat in him nearly has an aneurysm.

“I’ve spent the last few years saving up to buy a house,” Ashton says. “So, travelling has generally struck me as something I’d rather not spend money on until I’ve achieved it.”

Luke nods in understanding. “That makes sense. Are you anywhere close?”

“Close enough that with a little bit of luck and stubbornness, I’ll be able to go on vacation when summer rolls around again,” Ashton says, his eyes lighting up with a bright smile. “I’ve wanted to buy a house my whole life. I grew up in a flat and it was fine, but I had a friend back then whose parents owned this lovely little house, right? And I used to be so envious of him, because he had a garden with a trampoline and all these trees and it was on a really cozy street and… yeah. The moment I got my first real job, I started saving up, and now I’m almost there and it feels pretty good to be honest.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Luke says. The dim, but golden lighting provided by the spots in the ceiling make Ashton’s eyes appear intensely hazel-coloured, and while Luke has never been one to focus particularly much on a person’s eyes, he finds himself getting lost in the depths of Ashton’s.

“What about you?” Ashton asks. “I know you live in a flat right now, but—”

“Oh, I want a house some day,” Luke says, reluctantly looking away from Ashton’s eyes for a moment to keep himself from getting dragged even further in. “I grew up in one and I want one for myself, but not right now, I don’t think. Not that I’d have the funds to get one right now, anyway, but… yeah, maybe when I’m a little more settled down. If not with a husband and two point five kids, then at least with a dog.”

“Hm. You want kids and marriage and the whole package, then?”

“Sure, yeah,” Luke says with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I haven’t given it a lot of thought, really, never been in a relationship for long enough for it to even come up, but I’d like to have it one day. You?”

Ashton makes an apprehensive face. “I’ve thought about it over the last couple of years, ever since my last relationship ended, and I think I’ve landed on the conclusion that whether or not I do the whole marriage and kids-thing depends on the person I end up with.”

“How so?”

“Like, if they wanna get married and have kids, I’m good with that, but if they’d rather it just be me and them and a pet sharing a home until the end of our days or whatever, I’m good with that, too.”

“You’re flexible, in other words,” Luke says, to which Ashton nods. 

Though he’s putting himself in danger of overanalyzing, Luke can’t help but wonder if Ashton’s use of ‘they’ and ‘them’ is intentional or not. He has no idea what Ashton’s deal is, because unless he’s missed something, he can’t recall if Ashton’s ever mentioned the genders of any of his past partners. Not that they’ve delved into that particular topic as of yet, but there have been some anecdotes here and there, and Luke’s fairly certain that no gender has been explicitly stated. He opts not to voice his thoughts, though, figuring that if Ashton feels like sharing anything on the matter with him, he’ll do it. Until then, it’s none of Luke’s business.

They stay in the spa until Luke takes a look at his hand and says through a whine that his fingers look like pale, carrot-shaped prunes. Getting out of the hot water, revealing his body to the unforgivingly cold nighttime air, Luke grabs his towel and hurries to wrap it around himself before he steps inside. Ashton follows a few moments later and closes the door behind them.

“Wanna watch a movie, maybe grab some wine?” Luke asks while leading the way up the stairs. “Dunno if you’ve noticed, but there are, like, five million bottles of wine in that tall cupboard next to the fridge.”

“And I don’t know if _you’ve_ noticed, but I’ve spent, like, fifty percent of my time since we arrived here in that kitchen,” Ashton says. “I may have polished off half a bottle already.”

“What?” Luke laughs as they stop at the top of the stairs. “When did you do that?”

“While I was slaving away in the kitchen and you were lying on the couch, too busy being lazy to even notice what I was doing,” Ashton says with a deep sigh.

Luke ducks his head solemnly. “My apologies. I’ll make an effort to check in on you while you’re in there from now on, make sure you don’t feel the need to drink away your loneliness.”

Spinning on his heel and sticking his nose in the air, Ashton struts towards his bedroom. “You better, or you can cook your own dinner from now on,” he says over his shoulder.

Pressing his lips tightly together to contain the laugh that’s threatening to spill over his lips, Luke heads into his own bedroom. Pulling off his soaked swimmers, he dries off the best he can before he fishes clean underwear, socks, a pair of trackies and a hoodie from his bag, and gets dressed. Returning downstairs, Ashton’s nowhere to be seen, and Luke opens the cupboard with all the wine bottles, grabs the first one he lays eyes on, and then starts rummaging through the other cupboards in search of glasses. Once he’s found a couple of stemless ones, he opens the drawer that he knows is filled with snacks, and takes a bag of sourcream and onion-flavoured Lay’s, then brings it all out to the lounge and turns on the TV.

Ashton descends down the stairs and slumps down in the couch-corner to Luke’s left just as Luke’s located the Chromecast-app. Throwing one look at the coffee table, Ashton chuckles. “Wine and a bag of smelly chips,” he says. “You’re a class act, Luke.”

“They’re not smelly, they’re tasty,” Luke says. “Spas make me all… sweaty and a little shaky, so I need salt. You don’t have to eat them.”

“I won’t,” Ashton says as he opens the Netflix-app on his phone and gets it connected to the TV. “What do you wanna watch?”

“Something light, please,” Luke says. “We can continue with that damn horror-series tomorrow, but I’m in the mood for a comedy or a rom-com tonight.”

Ashton hums, eyes directed at his phone as he scrolls. It goes quiet for a bit while Ashton searches, and Luke unscrews the wine bottle to pour them a glass each before he rips open the Lay’s-bag.

“Find something?” he asks through a mouthful of chips. A crumb or two may escape his mouth and land in his lap.

“Ever seen _Hachi: A dog’s tale_?”

Luke blinks, then swallows down the chips in his mouth. “I said light, not heartbreaking and tear-inducing.”

“So, you have seen it?”

“Yes, I have, and I cried for two hours after it ended.”

Ashton coos. “You’re cute, babe. But okay, not that one, then.”

Luke stills with his hand in the chips-bag, staring at Ashton. Ashton doesn’t seem to notice, though, as he continues to scroll on his phone, once again oblivious to the fact that he’s made an off-handed comment that has Luke’s heart do somersaults while his cheeks flush. Cute. Babe. Luke sucks his bottom lip into his mouth, and nods slowly for no particular reason.

“Okay, what about _The Hangover_? I’ve seen it a million times and it’s ridiculous, but it’s also funny,” Ashton says eventually.

“Yeah, sure,” Luke says, his mind still trying to wrap itself around and digest Ashton’s previous comment. It’s not until the movie starts playing that he’s able to snap himself out of it and focus on the screen. Grabbing the wine glasses, he hands one to Ashton before he finds a comfortable position, and focuses on the movie.

About twenty minutes pass, and Luke’s just swallowed a sip of wine when Ashton nudges his calf and says, “Hey, come here.” Ashton’s holding his arms out, one leg stretched out on the couch, the other one planted on the floor.

“Huh?” Luke says.

“Come here,” Ashton repeats.

“Come there… how?”

“Jesus, how do you think?” Ashton laughs. “Sit between my legs.”

Luke swallows. “Oh.”

“I mean… you don’t have to,” Ashton says as his smile falters slightly. “I’ve been told I make for a good back pillow, though.”

Luke doesn’t doubt that for one second, because he’s seen Ashton’s upper body in all its naked glory, and it’s muscly and broad, yet still soft. Breaking eye contact with Ashton, Luke clears his throat and makes an incredibly awkward shuffle, trying not to spill wine everywhere as he does. Turning around ninety degrees, he manages to get his ass settled between Ashton’s spread legs before he leans backwards until his head’s resting comfortably on Ashton’s upper chest.

“Is— I mean, is that… what you meant?” he asks once he’s shifted his hips a little further down and found a satisfying position that allows him to see the TV while also enabling him to sip at his wine without spilling or choking.

“Yeah,” Ashton says as he winds his free arm around Luke’s front, fingers clutching loosely on his waist. “You okay with it?”

“Sure, yeah,” Luke says quickly. He is okay with it, he thinks, but it’s a situation he’s only been in a handful of times, and the last time was a solid while ago.

“You know you don’t have to indulge me and my adoration for cuddling if you don’t want to, right?” Ashton asks, and there’s a smile bleeding from his lips and into his words.

“I know, but it’s okay, really,” Luke says. “It’s… unusual. Cuddling-sessions tend to be few and far between in my life, but I do like them.”

“Why’s that?” Ashton asks before he raises his glass to his lips and takes a sip.

Luke shrugs. “I don’t really date much, and I don’t have that kind of relationship with my friends, so...”

Ashton makes a displeased sound. “What, and whenever you bring someone home just for the night, they skip out or you skip out before the cuddling can commence?”

Closing his eyes for a split second, Luke drinks a little more wine before he responds. “I guess. Sure. Yeah.”

“Did I say something?” Ashton asks after a beat of silence.

“No, no, it’s okay.”

“You sure? You’re being weird again, like you were in the spa earlier.”

“It’s nothing, Ashton, don’t worry about it.”

“Okay… you can tell me if something’s bothering you, though. My ears are pretty good at listening and my brain’s even able to conjure up some wisdom from time to time.”

“No, it’s alright, it’s nothing bad, and it… it doesn’t matter, anyway.”

“Why doesn’t it matter?”

“I don’t— it just doesn’t, trust me.” Luke considers the matter at hand for a moment, then adds, “And it probably won’t matter at any point, but… if it _does_ end up mattering, I’ll tell you. Promise.”

He feels Ashton nod, his chin brushing against Luke’s head. “Sure, yeah. But it’s nothing bad?”

“No, it’s nothing bad,” Luke confirms.

“Okay, then I’ll leave it alone,” Ashton says, and before Luke can say another word, he feels a kiss being pressed to the top of his head.

The movie plays on, but Luke isn’t paying attention anymore. Every fibre of his being is focused on the man who’s currently holding him close to his own body, like he’s something precious, something to be cherished and protected. Luke needs neither to be cherished nor protected, but that doesn’t mean he can’t find pleasure and happiness in it, even if it comes from someone who has yet to tell Luke what, exactly, it is that he wants.

It’s difficult to draw his own conclusions, too, because he doesn’t really know Ashton outside of this little bubble they’re currently sharing. He has no idea if Ashton treats all his friends with the same kindness and care that he’s showing Luke, or if he sees something in Luke that makes him want to act the way he is. If it’s the latter, Luke would like to know if it’s a purely platonic thing or if it’s… well, _more_. Or maybe it just has to do with the situation they’re currently in, tucked away in a remote cabin with no one but each other and nothing to do but relax and enjoy each other’s company.

He’s abruptly pulled off his train of thought by the sound of his ringtone. Taking his phone from his pocket, he looks at the display before answering the call. “Hey, Cal.”

“ _Hey! How’s it going?_ ”

“It’s going well, it’s beautiful up here and… all we do is eat, sleep and watch Netflix.”

“ _Netflix and chill, or…?_ ”

“No, Cal, not Netflix and ch—” Luke cuts himself off. “No. We’re watching _The Hangover_.”

“ _Top notch romance that,_ Calum snorts.

“It’s not meant to be top— no, I’m not having this conversation with you again. What’s up at home? How’s work? How’s Uno?”

Calum launches himself into a long tale about how work’s as irritating as ever because of miscellaneous reasons that Luke zones out for, how Uno’s already managed to destroy one of Calum’s sweaters, and how everything from his hot water to his kitchen drawers are awful and that he wants to move. Luke doesn’t take it too seriously, because if he’s not entirely mistaken, Calum’s been claiming to want to move approximately twice a month for the last year, and he has yet to make any advancements on said claim.

“ _No, but you’re good? You’re having a good time?_ ” Calum asks once he’s done ranting.

“Yes, mum, I’m having a very good time,” Luke says flatly.

“ _Good. Remember to use protection. Bye!_ ” Then the line goes dead, and Luke’s left with a hot face and an intense hope that Ashton didn’t catch Calum’s parting words.

“Calum?” Ashton asks as Luke puts his phone back in his pocket.

“Yeah,” Luke says. “Just… calling to check in on me, make sure I hadn’t been murdered.”

“And to ask if we were engaging in Netflix and chill,” Ashton says, and it sounds like he’s on the verge of laughing.

Cursing himself for repeating Calum’s words out loud, Luke blows a raspberry as his face heats up once again. “That, too. Sorry, he’s just… I don’t know what he is.”

“Curious, apparently,” Ashton sniggers. “You should’ve just told him we’d forgone the Netflix and moved onto the chill an hour ago.”

Spluttering, Luke drags a hand over his face. He somehow manages to respond with an even, “Yeah, sure, I’ll do that if he asks again.”

Ashton’s only response is to tighten his hold around Luke, and they fall into silence again as the movie keeps on playing. The clock’s nearing ten thirty by the time the credits start rolling, and the combination of the time they spent in the spa and the solid glass of wine he’s consumed has left Luke sluggish and more than ready for bed. He says so out loud, though it comes out mumbling, and Ashton nuzzles his nose into Luke’s hair for a second before he starts getting up, helping Luke in the process.

“So tired,” Luke mutters when Ashton lets go of him and turns off the TV. “Can we just sleep through all of tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a poor way to spend one of our few, precious days up here, but sure, if that’s what you want,” Ashton says. He gestures towards the stairs, silently telling Luke to lead the way.

“Just wanna sleep,” Luke says, promptly followed by a deep yawn that has his ears crackle. He trudges up the stairs with heavy feet, and barely registers that Ashton gives his waist a gentle squeeze to accompany his, “Sleep tight,” before he walks into his bedroom, strips naked, and falls over on the bed. He’s asleep within ten seconds.

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

_Wednesday_

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

“We should go for a walk.”

Putting his empty breakfast plate on the coffee table, Luke raises an eyebrow. “A walk,” he repeats. “Outside?”

“No, in the house. Let’s just wander through the rooms and see if anything interesting pops out.”

“Maybe there’s a ghost we can hang out with,” Luke says with a grin. “Okay, a walk. Not like… a full on mountain hike, though, right? ‘Cause I didn’t bring clothes or shoes suited for that.”

“No, I saw this… dirt road or something on the backside, from the balcony, so I thought we could just follow that for a bit, get some fresh air and enjoy nature.”

“Hm, yeah, alright,” Luke says. He throws a look at the clock on the wall; it’s almost noon. “Wanna just get dressed and head out, then?”

They go to their respective rooms to change out of their PJs, and Luke puts on a pair of jeans that, while skinny, are at least soft from having been worn numerous times over the last two years or so. He pairs it with a t-shirt and a thick, knitted sweater and, just to be on the safe side, a beanie. Grabbing his sneakers, he heads down to the entrance hall and puts them on while he waits for Ashton.

“Don’t you look adorable,” is what Ashton says when he appears. “Thick sweater and a beanie with a pom-pom on and everything.”

“I do my best,” Luke says through the swarm of butterflies that makes a brief appearance in his belly.

Ashton ties his boots, and then they’re off. They walk around the back of the cabin, and it doesn’t take them more than a few minutes to locate the dirt path that Ashton mentioned. It winds through the forest, wide enough for them to be able to walk side by side. Streams of sunlight break through the colourful trees, highlighting the path, and an occasional soft breeze tickles Luke’s face in the best way. Luke’s never been too much of an outdoorsy person, and he’s always thought that people who say that the air is different out in nature than in the city are exaggerating, because how can one possibly _feel_ a clear difference in the air? But as he strolls alongside Ashton and takes an occasional deep breath just because, he understands what those people mean, because the air _is_ different. He can’t quite pinpoint what it is, but it’s something.

“You know, I kinda wonder sometimes,” Luke starts as they walk past a gigantic tree, crowned with an array of bright red leaves, “how much of an effect it has on you as a person where you grow up. I grew up in the suburbs, right? And I am who I am, but I wonder if, like… I’d be a different person now if I’d grown up in a remote place like this instead.”

“Interesting thought,” Ashton muses. “I guess… I don’t know. I don’t think the place you grow up necessarily has a direct effect on who you become as an adult, but growing up in a different place than you did would expose you to different people, different experiences, different ways of looking at the world, and you’d probably have learned different skills, so… yeah. You probably wouldn’t have been the exact same person that you are now if you were brought up someplace else. That’s just my thoughts, though. I’m not a sociologist or whoever it is who answers those types of questions.”

“Makes sense,” Luke says. Pulling his beanie down to cover his ears completely, he swipes his gaze around. “I know environment and stuff is an important… contributing factor in who you become, but I guess those reasons you listed are more… I don’t know, secondary effects?”

“Not necessarily. I mean, people are a part of the environment you’re surrounded by, aren’t they?” Ashton says. “They make up part of the physical environment, anyway, and I think who you surround yourself with, whether it’s family or friends or teachers or neighbours, are important in shaping you as a person.”

Luke smiles crookedly. He thinks about his parents and everything they’ve done for him throughout the years; he thinks about his brothers and their never-ending, unconditional, albeit sometimes blunt, support; he thinks about the friends he had growing up — some of whom he still has —, who got him into and out of trouble; he thinks about the teachers that made an impression for better or worse; he thinks about the older lady who worked at the local grocery store and who always gave him an ice cream or a cupcake if he came in after having had a bad day; he thinks about the bus driver who looked like Santa Claus and gave him a pat on the back and said, “You’ll be alright, kid,” when he stepped on, in tears, after having suffered his first heartbreak at the tender age of fifteen; he thinks about Maya, who he had his first kiss with when he was fourteen, and who was the first person he came out to when she asked if he wanted to be her boyfriend and he felt he had no choice but to tell her the truth.

Calum’s accused Luke more than once of being too trusting, often simply implying it, sometimes saying it directly, and while Luke reckons Calum may have a point, he doesn’t necessarily see it as a bad thing. Because he thinks the reason why he’s so trusting is that no one has ever broken or abused his trust, not really, and he can hardly see that as a negative aspect of his past.

“Yeah,” he says in the end. “I think so, too.”

“I like it, though,” Ashton says.

“Hm?”

“That you grew up where and how you did, that it made you become the person that you are today. Right here and now.”

Somewhat taken aback, but in the best way possible, Luke looks at Ashton. He’s got one hand buried in his pocket, the other one swinging along his side, and his eyes are directed straight forward. There’s a complacent smile on his lips, though, and his cheeks have acquired a pink tint.

“Thanks,” he says quietly. “I… me, too. About you, I mean.”

Ashton looks at him, then, and while it only lasts for a second, the warmth engraved in his gold-speckled irises is something Luke knows he will remember for a long time to come.

They return to the cabin a little before one thirty, and the first thing they both do is change back into their PJs before they get settled on the couch and watch another episode of _The Haunting of Hill House_. When the clock strikes three, Ashton gets up and announces that he’s going to make them lunch, and Luke offers to help, but he’s waved off with a, “I’d rather our burritos don’t end up tasting like sewer waste.”

The rest of the afternoon is spent in an equally lazy fashion. They finish watching the series, and Luke declares that he’s never going to be able to be surrounded by darkness ever again, nor see a porchlight being turned without screaming, to which Ashton responds by laughing and calling him an adorable wuss. Luke flushes, but disguises it with a roll of his eyes and a comment about how it’s not his fault that he’s a normal human being who doesn’t enjoy being scared.

“It was good, though, you have to admit,” Ashton says. “I mean, the characters, the special effects, the soundtrack…”

“Yeah, it was good,” Luke says. “Really good, but I’d have liked it even more without all the… ghosts and creepy, dead faces.”

“Without any of that we would’ve been watching a completely different series,” Ashton laughs.

“Mhm, a less terrifying one,” Luke says with a sniff.

“You’re an actual child. A spoiled, impossible child.”

“You’re the one who keeps spoiling me, though. Bringing me food, giving me cuddles… taking me on this trip in the first place.”

“Yeah, kinda starting to regret that last one.”

“Okay, gimme your car keys and I’ll drive back home, leave you to it up here.”

Ashton mock-gasps and clutches his chest. “To fend for myself with all this wilderness surrounding me? I’d be dead within half a day, you monster.”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Luke says. “I’ll stay for the sake of keeping you alive.”

Ashton makes them steak, mushroom stew, creamy red wine sauce and grilled asparagus for dinner, and Luke moans his way through the entire meal, too engulfed in the flavours to give a rat’s ass about how he sounds. While appearing to be overjoyed by Luke’s response to the food, Ashton keeps sniggering, though, so there’s a fair chance Luke sounds ridiculous. Afterwards, when he’s full and sluggish, Luke once again finds himself in Ashton’s arms. Ashton is in the same position he was last night, but Luke has opted for lying on his side, ear pressed to a spot close to Ashton’s heart, and he finds relaxation in the sound of the strong, steady beat.

Neither of them can be bothered to find a movie, and so instead they just lie there and let TLC do its thing, showing them one episode after the other of miscellaneous terrible reality shows. It’s too comfortable, it feels too safe and too much like something Luke would quite like to do every day for the rest of his life, because… because Ashton’s so good to him. He’s kind and caring, he’s thoughtful and he can, apparently, cook, and he likes physical displays of affection, and sometimes he’ll look at Luke in a way that Luke doesn’t know how to interpret, but that nevertheless makes his heart soar.

Pushing Luke’s hair away from his forehead, Ashton asks, “You asleep?”

“No, just relaxing,” Luke says as he stretches his legs out, then curls back up.

Ashton hums. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you say yes to come with me up here?”

Plucking at Ashton’s sweater, Luke tilts his head forward, making his neck crack slightly. “Guess I didn’t see any reason to say no,” he says. “I wanted a vacation and this one was free, and you seemed nice, so…”

“Could’ve turned out to be the worst week of both of our lives, though,” Ashton says. “If it turned out we were completely incompatible, I mean.”

Luke snorts out a laugh. “What, and you didn’t consider any of that before you just came to my desk one day and asked me?”

“Sure I did, but I decided to take a chance.”

“And so did I.”

“You did, yeah,” Ashton says. “Thankfully, otherwise I’d might have actually had to go on Tinder to find someone to accompany me.”

“I don’t know if you’re making a joke or if you’d actually do that if it came to it.”

“I probably wouldn’t do it,” Ashton chuckles. “Or, if I had enough time beforehand to get to know the person a little, then sure, but to just grab a random match and ask them to come with me up here… nah.”

And again with the ‘them’. Luke desperately wants to ask, but once again, he opts out. “You actually use Tinder, though?” is what he chooses to ask instead.

“Oh, I’m sensing judgement,” Ashton says, prodding Luke’s waist with one finger. 

Luke squirms away from the poke, and tilts his head back to look up at Ashton. “Sorry,” he says. “Just… prejudiced, I guess. All I know about it is what my friends tell me, and it’s usually just stories about awful dates and even more awful one night stands.”

“Well, yeah, of course they’ll tell you those stories,” Ashton says. “They’re not gonna tell you about the meet-ups that went well. That’s just boring.”

“Maybe I’d have gotten on Tinder myself at some point if they did tell me about the meet-ups that went well, though,” Luke says as he bows his head back down to rest on Ashton’s chest.

“Hm. But yeah, I use Tinder from time to time. Mostly as a passtime when I’m on the toilet, but…”

Burying his face in Ashton’s sweater, Luke laughs. “Imagine if you meet your future spouse or whatever on there, and then at some point you have to tell… them, that you swiped left on them while on the toilet.”

“It’d be a great story to tell the grandkids,” Ashton says matter-of-factly.

“Oh, for sure,” Luke says flatly. “How their grandpa found his spouse on an app while taking a dump? Absolutely beautiful, a true fairytale.”

“I’m already looking forward to it,” Ashton says, letting out a deep, content sigh. “I might prepare by writing it all down, create a proper love story out of it.”

“Can’t wait to read it.”

“I’ll send you the first draft as soon as it’s completed, after I’ve sent one to my mum, of course.”

“Of course, mum’s always first priority.”

Ashton stays silent for a little while, plucking at the hair at the back of Luke’s head. “It wasn’t always like that for me,” he says, and the tone in his voice tells Luke that the mood has shifted, quite suddenly, and that Ashton’s considering his every word, as if afraid to say the wrong thing. “Maybe not now either, not a hundred percent.”

Luke nods, the side of his head dragging against Ashton’s chest with the motion. “Difficult childhood? You mentioned something about it the other day.”

“More often than not, yeah,” Ashton says carefully. “I was left to my own devices a lot of the time, then my siblings came along when I was… nine and eleven, I think, and as we grew older, I wound up taking care of them way more than should be expected of me while my mum was out and about, doing God knows what.”

Gnawing at his bottom lip, Luke tries to imagine growing up in such a way, but it’s difficult. His own upbringing was anything but unstable, and as far as he can recall, the only thing his parents ever expected of him was that he followed their rules, did his chores, made an honest effort at school, and that he treated people with kindness. Never was he expected to take on tasks that were meant for an adult.

“I’m sorry,” he says eventually. “I can’t… relate, but that sounds tough.”

“It was,” Ashton says. “It messed me up quite a bit as I grew older and wanted to live my own life, but obligations that I never should have had got in the way all the time, made it difficult for me to make friends or date or anything, my grades started suffering for it, and… yeah, I carried around a lot of resentment towards my mum for a long time. It’s only in the last two years or so that we’ve started working on our relationship, and it’s been good, but it’s not done overnight, you know?”

“Yeah, I can understand that, I think,” Luke says. “And… your relationship with your siblings?”

“It’s good, I talk to them quite a lot,” Ashton says. “I miss them, I’m not able to see them as often as I’d like, but thank God for modern technology.”

Luke smiles. “Tell me about it. I Skype with my parents at least twice a month, my brothers a little more seldom, but still often enough, and I dunno how I’d cope if I wasn’t able to see their faces every once in a while.”

“Yeah. I once went a couple of months without Skyping with my brother, he’s the youngest, and I swear he’d changed visibly in those two months.”

“How old is he?”

“Eleven years younger than me, so… fifteen now.”

“Hm, well, people do change really quickly at that age. One day you look in the mirror and a nine-year-old is staring back at you, the next you’ve got scruff, acne, oily skin and your voice is proper fucked up.”

Ashton laughs. “Good times. I remember when my voice broke, I refused to speak to anyone but my mum and my siblings for, like, a month straight because I was so embarrassed.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you think,” Luke snorts.

“Oh, no, it was bad,” Ashton says as he threads his fingers through Luke’s hair. “I had a teacher who had to give us all some information about puberty at some point, and she dead-ass used me as an example of people whose voice became proper fucked up during puberty, while using another boy in my class as an example of the opposite.”

Luke has to force himself to not laugh out loud. “That’s awful,” he says instead. “I’m guessing you were so humiliated you just melted into the chair?”

“Yup, took a team of scientists almost two full weeks to figure out how to separate me from it.”

“Good thing they were able to.”

“Otherwise you’d be getting ready for bed ‘cause you’d have to wake up early for work tomorrow?”

“Exactly, glad you understand,” Luke says. “What time is it now, anyway?”

Ashton twists a little underneath Luke, then says, “A little past midnight. You tired?”

“No, I’m good,” Luke says. Truth be told, he _is_ a little tired, but the thought of going to bed, where there’s nothing but the pillows and the covers to keep him company, is incredibly off-putting. He’d rather stay exactly where he is, and listen to Ashton talk and have him continue rubbing Luke’s scalp.

“Hm, alright,” Ashton says. “Tell me something about yourself that I don’t know.”

“I think that list is pretty long,” Luke says, chuckling. “Give me something to go on.”

“Okay… Favourite colour? Favourite subject in school? Favourite piece of clothing you own? Worst decision you’ve ever made about your appearance?”

“Periwinkle blue, English, my red silk shirt, and… probably when I was, like, thirteen and I convinced my mum to let me dye my hair neon green. It was an awful colour on me, and the bleaching required left my scalp sore and my hair dry.”

“Why did you want neon green hair in the first place?”

“I thought it’d make me stand out, which it did, but not in a good way,” Luke says, grimacing at the memory. “I was mercilessly teased by my classmates and my brothers for a solid month.”

“And you’ve stayed away from the crazy colours since?”

“Yeah, one ill-considered choice was enough to scare me into never trying again.”

“So, you won’t be showing up at work with neon pink hair anytime soon?”

“What, you think I’d look good with it?”

“I think you’d look good with any hair colour, but… maybe just stick to the one you have now.”

A surprised, “Oh,” escapes out of Luke’s mouth. His cheeks flush, and he clears his throat. “Thanks, and… yeah, the one I have now is all natural, so…”

“It suits you,” Ashton says, giving Luke’s hair a light tug. “I think my natural hair colour is about the same as yours, but I never felt like it suited me a hundred percent.”

“Hm. Your hair was red when I first met you. Or, when I first officially met you.”

“Yeah, I liked it, but maintaining it was too much work, so I switched to black.”

“It looks good on you,” Luke says. “You’re tan enough to pull it off. If I tried black hair, I’d probably look like a corpse.”

“You’d be a good looking corpse, though,” Ashton offers.

It takes a hot second or two for Luke to register the words, and when he does, he closes his eyes and bites down at the inside of his cheek. He wishes, then, that he was a tad more courageous than he is, because maybe then he’d be able to bring himself to ask Ashton if he’s flirting or just ridiculously friendly. But Luke isn’t a courageous soul, not when it comes to situations that could easily land him in the midst of a humiliating conversation.

“That’s probably the weirdest compliment I’ve ever received, but thanks,” he manages to respond in the end, and Ashton laughs.

They stay on the couch until it’s nearly one o’clock, at which point Luke yawns soundly, and Ashton takes it upon himself to declare that it’s bedtime. Albeit a little unwilling, Luke drags himself to his feet and waits for Ashton to turn off the TV and hit the lights before they head upstairs, Ashton leading the way. And it’s not that Luke is _trying_ to be a pervert, but his eyes drop to Ashton’s ass as they walk, and he ends up feeling like one anyway, and he’s both relieved and disappointed when they reach the top.

“So, tomorrow,” Ashton says once he’s turned around and is facing Luke. “Wanna do the whole shebang?”

“The whole shebang,” Luke repeats as he scrunches up his nose. “Sounds gross, but please elaborate.”

“Nothing gross,” Ashton says. “But I was thinking we could take a walk, jump in the spa, light up the fireplace, I’ll make us something good for dinner, maybe we could find a decent movie to watch. What do you say?”

What Luke wants to say is, ‘ _That sounds like a long, full-blown date, and was that your intention?_ ’ For the hundredth time, however, his courage fails him spectacularly, and what he ends up saying is, “Sure, yeah.”

Ashton’s face lights up on a smile. “Great! Breakfast at ten? I’ll whip up some scrambled eggs and bacon, if you want.”

“If you ever hear me say no to scrambled eggs and bacon, just assume that an evil parasite has taken over my brain and call the FBI or something.”

“Might be fun to see you act all evil, though,” Ashton says as his smile widens. “What do you reckon you might do?”

“Like, if I was still me, but an evil version?” Luke asks, and Ashton nods. “Dunno. Steal a lot, probably, like… clothes and shoes and things for my flat that I’d never be able to afford.”

Ashton throws his head back as he laughs. “Sounds about right.”

“Hm. I saw this shirt from Gucci a while back, it was gorgeous, but it cost like… I don’t know, I think it was around 1300 dollars, and I don’t think I can justify spending that much on one piece of clothing.”

Eyes all but bulging out of his skull, Ashton shakes his head. “You could buy a whole new wardrobe for that kind of money,” he says. “But I’m guessing part of the appeal is owning something exclusive and high-end?”

Luke smiles crookedly. “You think I’m ridiculously vain, don’t you?”

“No,” Ashton says, and when Luke quirks an eyebrow at him, he snorts. “I don’t, I swear. A lot of people like spending large sums on certain things, don’t they? Original paintings, rare books, expensive food, strictly speaking unnecessary re-models of their homes, and so on. You like spending yours on clothes, and I mean, as long as you don’t spend money you don’t have, I don’t see what the problem is. It’s your money to spend on whatever you want, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I… guess it is,” Luke says as a smile blooms on his face, along with a surge of heat manifesting itself in his cheeks. “I don’t shop a lot, though, to be fair. I’ll occasionally find an item I really like, then save up to buy it if it’s too expensive to just grab there and then, and… yeah.”

“Well, you always look very put-together, very stylish, whenever I see you at work,” Ashton says, eyes flickering to the floor for a split second before he looks back up at Luke. “I think I already told you that once.”

“No, you told me I tended to dress with _flare_ ,” Luke giggles. “I wasn’t sure if you were complimenting me or criticising me.”

“It was a compliment,” Ashton says. “Don’t tell him I told you, but Michael nearly had an aneurysm when you came in one day and were wearing these… I don’t know, high-waisted slacks, I guess. He came back down to our floor and told me that the greatest ass in the building belonged to, and I quote, ‘ _Calum’s freakishly tall friend_ ’.”

Luke blinks, then bursts out laughing. “Was it a good type of aneurysm, or…?”

“Induced by hormones and admiration, despite the fact that the man’s engaged, so… I’d say so, yeah.”

Pursing his lips, Luke does his best to quelch his desperate need to laugh at the sheer stupidity of the situation. “Tell him I say thanks the next time you talk to him.”

“That’d mean admitting that I told you about his aneurysm, though.”

“Oh, yeah…” They fall into silence for a few seconds, and Luke’s the one to break it. “Well, I’ll see you and some scrambled eggs and bacon tomorrow at ten, then?”

“Tomorrow at ten,” Ashton confirms. He nibbles at his lip and his eyes shift back and forth a couple of times, as if he’s contemplating something. Clearing his throat, he gives Luke another smile. “Goodnight, sleep tight.”

“Yeah. You, too,” Luke says. Everything’s said and done, this is where they part ways for the night, but neither of them move. 

Ashton’s expression is still pensive and considering as he’s looking Luke in the eyes, and the intensity of it has Luke’s heart pounding in his chest. He feels like he should say something, but his brain appears to have short-circuited and his vocabulary may or may not have taken its bags and moved out for good. Whether it’s Ashton or Luke who steps in closer to the other, Luke isn’t sure, but the result is, nonetheless, that there’s suddenly a very small gap separating them, and Ashton’s hand is pressed flat against Luke’s chest.

“So… where do you wanna… go tomorrow?” Luke says after a bit, though it comes out as more of a mumble than anything else.

“Doesn’t matter, just wanna get some fresh air and… yeah, walk,” Ashton responds. He stands a couple of inches shorter than Luke, and it becomes more obvious than ever when they’re both standing up straight, close together.

“Okay, yeah, I… I like walking,” Luke says, and it might be the lamest thing he’s ever said, but he can’t _think_. 

Ashton’s lips curve into a tender smile, and his eyes are bright and alert and something else that Luke can’t identify as they peer into Luke’s. Swallowing thickly, Luke inhales somewhat shakily, and he knows it’s ridiculous, because they’re quite literally just standing there, but the small amount of air left between them feels loaded with unanswered questions, and his respiration and his pulse has long since caught onto that.

“I’m just gonna… go to bed now,” Luke says when it’s all starting to become too much. He doesn’t wait for a response, nor does he look at Ashton, before he steps back, turns around and walks into his bedroom. Shutting the door with a quiet thud, he leans back against it for a moment and closes his eyes while taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down.

As he strips down and crawls under the covers, he tries not to think about the intensity of Ashton’s gaze or how it felt to have the opportunity to just lean in the slightest bit and connect their lips. But sleep doesn’t come for a long time, while the thoughts persist, and Luke loathes that that’s all it takes for his cock to start to harden with interest. He’s not fifteen and it should therefore take more than memories of a bit of tension and close proximity to another human being to get him going.

When he eventually does drift off to sleep, he’s nearly fully hard, and as uncomfortable as it is, he stubbornly ignores it. The alternative is too damn embarrassing.


	2. Part 2

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_Thursday_

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When Luke’s alarm goes off at fifteen minutes to ten the next morning, the first thing he notices is the smell of bacon. Still half asleep, he stumbles out of bed and into the bathroom. He takes a quick shower and gets dressed in a clean pair of trackies and a thin sweater before he heads downstairs, finding Ashton in the kitchen.

“Morning,” he says as he jumps up to sit on the dining table.

“Morning,” Ashton says, smiling as he continues to scramble the eggs in the pan. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah, sure,” Luke says, diverting his eyes to the floor for a moment. “You?”

“I’ve had better nights, but it could’ve been worse, too,” Ashton says with another smile. “Breakfast’s gonna be ready in a moment, you wanna make coffee and pull out some plates?”

They work side by side in amicable silence, and once the coffee’s done and their plates are full, they move to the lounge and turn on the morning news before they dig in. As is to be expected, the news is nothing but depressing, and once Luke’s cleared his plate and set it aside, he reaches for the remote and channel surfs until he finds an episode of _Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares_.

“It’ll never not amuse me how these people challenge him at every turn,” Luke comments when the episode has gone on for a few minutes. “Like, if they didn’t want the criticism, why did they apply to be on the show?”

“Maybe they expected him to come in and tell them that it’s not their fault that their business is failing, but that it’s everyone else who doesn’t have taste,” Ashton suggests as he puts his plate on the table and reaches for his coffee mug.

“If they really expected that, they’re even more stupid than they look,” Luke snorts. “What do you reckon the stats are for these restaurants, though? Like, after he’s come in to help, how many of them do you think actually stay in business?”

“No idea, but you can probably Google it.”

“That’d involve moving, though, because I left my phone in the bedroom.”

Ashton coos and pats Luke’s calf. “Oh, you poor thing, can’t have that, can we?”

“No, we absolutely cannot,” Luke says, sniffing. “I’ll just assume that most of the restaurants failed within half a year.”

“Because ignorance is… a weird type of bliss?”

“Ignorance allows me to be lazy,” Luke corrects.

“Ah, of course, spoiled little shit as you are.”

Sinking deeper into the couch and flinging his legs up, feet coming to rest in Ashton’s lap, Luke grins. “Correct.”

The sun’s shining, and the sky’s as cloudless as it was yesterday, yet when Luke goes to fetch himself a coffee refill, the thermometer in the kitchen tells him that it’s barely 41 degrees outside. While Ashton watches TV, Luke attempts to get a fire going in the fireplace. Fair enough, it takes demanding that Ashton Googles how to light a fire, then three attempts with the lighter, one burned finger and ten minutes with his head halfway inside the fireplace to blow on the wood, but they’re eventually left with a roaring fire, and Luke’s left with a sense of pride.

“I feel like a proper adult now,” Luke declares after he’s sat back down on the couch.

“Since when does getting a fireplace working make you more of an adult?” Ashton asks.

“Since someone realised several thousand years ago that fire was dangerous and that only adults should be allowed to deal with it.”

“Didn’t know you were such a history buff.”

“Well, now you do.”

The fireplace slowly, but surely, heats up the lounge, and after an hour or so, Luke starts getting sluggish from it. It’s kinda like being in a sauna, he reckons, minus the nudity and dim lighting. When his sweater is starting to stick to his back, he gets up on somewhat wobbly legs, and heads out on the balcony. The cold air instantly revives his brain, and as he leans his elbows on the banister, he breathes out a sigh of relief. After a few moments, Ashton joins him, and they stand there, arms almost touching, but not quite, while the only sounds to be heard are those of the forest.

“I think we can hold off on putting more wood in there,” Luke says after a bit.

Ashton bumps his shoulder into Luke’s. “I thought it was nice, but okay.”

“I don’t do heat very well.”

“Yeah, you told me the other day. Or, you told me the cold doesn’t bother you.”

“It doesn’t. Heat, however…”

“We’re polar opposites in that area,” Ashton remarks. “I only like cold surroundings when I’m in bed.”

“Well, that’s something. If you were to tell me you prefer sleeping in a hot bedroom, I’d might have to take you to get a lobotomy.”

“And risk ridding me of my bright and sparkly persona in the process?”

“It’d be worth it. Sometimes you’ve gotta weigh the pros against the cons.”

“And changing my preferences for my sleeping environment is more important than me being who I am?” Ashton wipes a non-existent tear from his cheek. “I thought you liked me.”

“Not enough to accept you preferring a hot bedroom to a cold one.”

“Which I don’t.”

“I was talking hypothetically.”

“And hypothetically, why would it matter to you if I preferred my bedroom to be hot? Are you gonna be there with me?”

The grin that’s been plastered to Luke’s face the last half minute or so falters slightly, and he blinks at Ashton once, twice. “It’s a matter of principle,” he says. “Not… I don’t know.”

“Uh-huh,” Ashton says slowly, eyes crinkling up as he smiles teasingly. “Okay, sure.”

Luke shifts his gaze back to the TV, clearing his throat. “So… when do you wanna take that walk?”

They find their way outside around five o’clock, when the sun has started to sink lower on the sky. It’s freezing cold, and while Luke’s quite content with it, Ashton starts grumbling about it approximately ten seconds after they’ve set foot outside, despite him wearing two more layers of clothing underneath his jacket than Luke. Somehow, Luke finds it cute.

“Have you ever considered that you might be living in the wrong part of the world?” Ashton asks when they’ve been following the dirt road for a couple of minutes. “If you’re this impervious to the cold, maybe you should pack up your bags and move to Canada or Russia or Scandinavia.”

Luke laughs. “What, are you trying to get rid of me? Ship me off to somewhere cold and dark and unforgiving so you never have to see me again?”

“No, I’d see you on Skype all the time, obviously,” Ashton says. “I’m just saying. You seem to be thriving in this type of weather.”

“I think it gets colder than this in Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, though. Dunno how well I’d cope with, like, -20 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Does it get that cold?”

“No idea. Maybe. I’m not about to find out.”

“Google it.”

“What is with you and telling me to Google stuff all the time?”

“Just trying to satisfy your curiosity, baby.”

Luke ducks his head, smiling at the ground. “I think _your_ curiosity is the one that needs to be satisfied this time, not mine.”

Ashton shrugs. “Potato, potahto.”

“I don’t think that’s the right use of that phrase.”

“Can ‘potato, potahto’ even be called a phrase?”

“Christ, you’re exhausting,” Luke snorts, reaching out a hand to give Ashton’s shoulder a gentle shove.

Returning the gesture, Ashton smiles widely. “Don’t you just love it?”

Luke doesn’t respond.

A narrow path leading into the forest catches Ashton’s eyes at one point, and while Luke would quite like to stay on the road, Ashton ignores him as he steers onto the path. Shaking his head and sending a prayer to some higher power that Ashton isn’t about to lead him into a bear’s cave, Luke follows in Ashton’s footsteps. The forest is dense on both sides of the path, sunlight barely finding its way through the trunks and branches, and something akin to anxiety is starting to expand in Luke’s stomach.

“Hey, Ash, are you sure about this?” he asks as he takes a couple of quick steps so that he’s as close to Ashton as he can manage without walking straight into him.

“Not in the slightest,” Ashton says easily. “Let’s just continue for a bit and see where we end up.”

Luke grimaces. “Yeah, but… what if we accidentally stumble upon a serial killer or something? I think this is how people end up getting killed in slasher movies, like… by axe or chainsaw or something. And need I remind you that it’s almost Halloween? Prime serial killer season!”

“Yeah, well, at least it’ll be an interesting way to die.”

“I— no! I don’t wanna die in the forest, hours from home, and in a… gory way!”

“We’re not gonna die, Luke, calm down,” Ashton snorts as he turns around. Putting a hand on the small of Luke’s back, he gently nudges him forward. “Come on, don’t worry.”

Luke whines unhappily, but as he starts walking again, Ashton doesn’t move his hand, and Luke finds some sort of reassurance in it. After another couple of minutes, he can see an opening coming up ahead, and he automatically speeds up in his hurry to reach it. Ashton laughs softly behind him, but follows suit without a word.

As it turns out, the forest opens up completely when they reach the end of the path. In its place comes a stone ledge of sorts that grants them a view of the forest that never seems to end. Luke stops when he’s a few feet away from the edge, and Ashton’s steps up next to him, letting his hand fall from Luke’s back. While having no idea what time it is, Luke knows it’s late afternoon, and the deep, orange glow from the sun proves it. As far as his eyes are able to see, the landscape underneath, above and in front of them is bathed golden, and it’s enthralling in its beauty.

Lost in the view before him, Luke jumps when he feels a gentle pressure at the small of his back, and he realises that it’s Ashton’s hand again. Turning his head, he finds Ashton looking at him, and he smiles, feeling his whole face light up with it. The sun’s hitting the side of Ashton’s face, leaving his skin even more tan than usual, and the contrast between it and his shiny, black hair is mesmerizing.

Sliding his hand from Luke’s back to his waist, Ashton steps up in front of Luke. “Your ears are red,” he says.

“It’s cold,” Luke says.

Ashton smiles while raising his free hand, tugging Luke’s beanie down to cover his ears. “There you go.”

Luke scrunches up his nose. “Now I look ridiculous, though. Like a torpedo or something.”

“Nah, you’ve got some curls sticking out here and there, you’re all good. The pom-pom helps, too.” Keeping his hand on Luke’s waist, Ashton cups his jaw with the other, and it’s such a gentle caress that Luke can’t help but lean into it. Ashton inches a little closer, then says, “You’re just as cute as always.”

And there’s no doubt in Luke’s mind that Ashton doesn’t mean that in a platonic way, he _refuses_ to think that that’s the case. Between the manner in which they parted ways the night before and the intimacy surrounding them here and now, there has to be something more at stake. Still, Luke’s hands are shaking ever so slightly with nerves when they come to rest on Ashton’s shoulders, because _what if_?

There’s a trace of something anxious on Ashton’s face, it’s carved into the furrow between his eyebrows, but more than anything else, he looks determined and hopeful as he leans in even closer to Luke. Their noses bump against one another, and a huff of laughter spills over Luke’s lips. It dies quickly, however, when their lips brush together. For a moment, neither of them move, as if wordlessly asking the other for permission.

It’s Luke who takes the final step in the end, leaning in to capture Ashton’s lips in a gentle kiss. Innocent, heartwarming, toe curling heat that has him wind his arms around Ashton’s shoulders to pull him closer flows through him, and Ashton sighs through his nose. And so it is that they stand there, somewhere in the forest of the Great Smoky Mountains, keeping each other warm and sated despite the cold October air, while golden rays of sunlight do their part by highlighting them. Their lips mold together as they move, gently and without intent, and they don’t break apart until they’re forced to come up for air.

Pressing his forehead against Luke’s, Ashton asks, “Was that okay?”

Luke nods frantically. “Yeah, it was— yeah. Very okay.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that since Tuesday, just wasn’t sure if the feeling was mutual.”

“Oh,” Luke sighs. Pulling back to be able to look Ashton in the eyes, he bites his lip. “I didn’t… I mean, I wasn’t sure if you were sending me some signals, I thought you were, maybe, but I wasn’t sure if that was the case or if I was just… I don’t know. I wasn’t even sure if you were into guys.”

Pressing a chaste kiss to Luke’s lips, Ashton shrugs. “I tend to go for girls, but… I’ve been known to swing the other way on occasion.”

“So, I’m an occasion,” Luke laughs. “Thanks. Very kind of you to say.”

“Damn straight you are. A pretty lovely occasion, I might add.”

Just because he can, Luke kisses Ashton again. “I’ll take it,” he says when he pulls back.

Ashton grins. “Wanna head back? I’ll get started on dinner and you can… I don’t know, drink wine and lounge on the couch.”

“You keep accusing me of being spoiled while simultaneously saying stuff like that, so I’m not really sure what you want from me at this point.”

Laughing, Ashton grabs a hold of Luke’s hand to get him moving. “Did I ever say that you being spoiled was a bad thing, though?” he asks as they get back on the path. He doesn’t let go of Luke’s hand.

“I feel like it’s kinda implied,” Luke says. “It’s not exactly a word filled with positive connotations.”

“No, but you’re not a spoiled _brat_ , and that makes all the difference, trust me.”

“Sure, I’ll take your word for it.”

They walk back to the cabin while bantering back and forth, and their fingers remain clasped loosely together the entire way. While Luke isn’t entirely sure what to take from it, he revels in the feeling, because it’s been months and months since he last held hands with anybody, and even longer since he held hands with anybody that had the ability to make his heart flip by simply looking at him.

The fire has almost died down when they return, though not quite, and while Ashton goes to take a shower, Luke gets started on reviving it. It takes him a solid while, and by the time the goal has been achieved, Ashton has returned, clad in trackies and an oversized knitted sweater.

Luke straightens up from where he’s crouched down in front of the fireplace when Ashton walks over. Putting his hands on Luke’s waist, Ashton grins. “Hi,” he says. “Long time, no see.”

“Longest ten minutes of my life,” Luke says solemnly as he wraps his arms around Ashton’s neck. “I was barely able to hang on.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Ashton says. 

He smiles again before inching closer, his lips meeting Luke’s in a slow kiss. Tangling his fingers in Ashton’s damp hair, Luke tilts his head to the side for a better angle, and Ashton immediately falls into it, tugging Luke’s body closer to his own. The heat from the fireplace combined with the increasingly intense kiss makes Luke’s skin feel like it’s caught on fire, and he can’t quite help it when a small moan slips past his lips. Ashton slips one hand under Luke’s sweater, his hand scalding against the bare skin, and Luke’s chest tightens in the best way possible. Licking a trail against the seam of Ashton’s lips, he’s rewarded with a grunt and Ashton’s fingers digging into the soft skin on his hip.

Luke has half a mind to back them over to the couch, but before he can act on said thought, Ashton pulls away with a throaty chuckle. “Not that this isn’t perfectly amazing, but I think I was supposed to get started on dinner,” he says.

“Screw dinner,” Luke says.

“What, you’re not hungry?”

“Well, yeah, but…” But what, exactly? ‘ _Yeah, but I’ll be happy to starve to death if it means I can stay right here and keep kissing you_ ’? Luke recognises that that might not be the smoothest line to deliver.

Shaking his head on a smile, Ashton kisses Luke’s nose, then pulls away completely. “What do you wanna eat?”

Luke shrugs half-heartedly. “Dunno. You, if I can?”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you’d be awfully lonely for the rest of the week if you ate me now, so maybe save that for Saturday?”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay… something with mashed potatoes?”

“Because yours turn out tasting like saltwater and you want some that taste like they’re supposed to?”

Luke flushes. “Can’t believe you remembered that, but… yeah.”

“I think I saw some turkey fillets in the fridge, so… turkey, mashed potatoes, some type of gravy and veggies?”

“Yes, please,” Luke all but groans.

“I love the fact that you can’t cook, but you have these semi-orgasmic reactions to food, whether it’s just mentioned or if you’re eating it.”

“I’ve come to appreciate your cooking, okay? And there’s nothing wrong with enjoying good food even though one’s unable to cook. I was raised on home cooked meals and I appreciate them to this day.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining,” Ashton says, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “I like that you’re so appreciative, I just find it funny as well.”

“My mission in life,” Luke says as he steps past Ashton. “To be a source of amusement.”

“You’re succeeding,” Ashton says, and Luke stifles a giggle.

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” he says as he heads towards the stairs.

“Okay, just don’t expect dinner to be done by the time you return.”

Turning his head, Luke raises his eyebrows. “You mean you can’t cook turkey, _and_ make mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies in twenty minutes? And here I thought you were getting better at the whole cooking-thing…”

Ashton merely sticks his tongue out in response before he disappears into the kitchen, and Luke is nothing short of endeared. For the sole purpose of returning to Ashton as fast as possible, Luke showers as quickly as he can without toppling over on the slippery tiles. If he almost does topple over once or twice, no one but Luke ever has to know. He gets dressed in the same pair of trackies and the same sweater that he wore last night, then returns downstairs, heading straight to the kitchen, where he finds Ashton hard at work.

“Want help?” he asks as he leans back against the kitchen counter next to where Ashton’s busy chopping up a broccoli.

“Depends,” Ashton says. “Are you any good at peeling potatoes, or are you as clumsy with your hands as you are with your legs?”

“My legs?” Luke laughs.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Monday,” Ashton says, throwing Luke a sideways smirk. “You’d just stumbled over your damn cat when you opened your front door.”

“That was Uno’s fault, not mine,” Luke says. “And I’m great at peeling potatoes, actually.”

“Okay, peeler and potatoes are over there,” Ashton says, gesturing to his left. “Do your worst.”

If Luke may say so himself, he does a fine job of peeling the potatoes, and he only slices his own finger once. It’s the same finger that got burned earlier, so he reckons it’s all the same. Once finished, he grabs a knife from the holder on the counter and cuts the potatoes in smaller pieces, then finds a pan to put the pieces in.

“See?” he says once he’s filled the pan with water and put a lid on it. “I helped.”

Ashton’s busy rubbing salt and pepper on the turkey fillets, and he looks up for a moment to smile at Luke. “Very good, babe. I think I’ve got it now, though, so why don’t you go find a movie for us to watch? My phone’s on the coffee table, the code’s 8912.”

“Oh, giving me the code to your phone, seems risky,” Luke says, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Feel free to check my search history if you want, I doubt you’ll find anything interesting.”

Shrugging, Luke says, “That remains to be seen,” before he steps past Ashton and out to the lounge. As promised, Ashton’s phone is on the coffee table, and Luke sits down before he reaches for it and unlocks it. He locates the Netflix-app, connects it to the Chromecast, then starts browsing, one category at the time. As he has no idea how the app works, if it’s possible to mark movies for later, he opens Ashton’s notes and starts typing down potential candidates for tonight’s viewing as he goes.

He’s just written down the title of a comedy starring Zac Efron when Ashton’s phone vibrates in his hand with an incoming text. While Luke doesn’t open it, he catches the preview, which reads, ‘ _So??? Gotten anywhere with pretty-boy??? Or are you still..._ ’. It’s from Michael, Luke notices, and he bites his lip on a smile, because has Ashton been talking to Michael about Luke?

Abandoning the couch and Ashton’s phone, Luke walks to the kitchen. Ashton has a glass of wine in his hand, and he’s watching a lump of butter melt in a pan on the stove. The moment he spots Luke, Ashton reaches for another wine glass on the counter and hands it to Luke with a, “Here.”

“Thanks,” Luke says as he accepts it. He takes a sip, then swallows before letting his lips stretch into a wide smile. “So.”

“So,” Ashton echoes, smiling back.

“When… when did you and Michael start talking about me? And when did you start referring to me as ‘pretty-boy?’”

Ashton lowers his wine glass as his eyes widen. “I… didn’t expect you to go looking through my texts.”

It’s Luke’s eyes’ turn to widen, and he shakes his head vigorously. “No, no, fuck, I— no, I didn’t,” he says. “I— he sent you a text while I was looking for movies and I didn’t open it, but your text previews are on, so I just— sorry. I just saw it, accidentally, but it wasn’t a criticism, I was curious and—”

“Christ, you ramble a lot when you’re nervous.”

Luke clamps his mouth shut, biting his lip. “Sorry.”

Ashton shakes his head. Leaving his wine glass on the counter, he turns down the heat on the plate where the butter’s melting before he responds. “To be fair, Michael was the one who started calling you pretty-boy, not me. And… well, I told him the other day that I found you stupidly cute, and he hasn’t let up about it since.”

“Stupidly cute,” Luke says, tasting the words. “I can live with that. I’d prefer ruggedly handsome, but…”

“Grow some scruff and acquire some scars, and I’ll get back to you. Right now you’re just cute and pretty.”

“Eh, I guess that’s alright, though the same words could be used to describe a pure-bred cat.”

“That was the point I was trying to make — you’re like a pure-bred cat.”

“Lucky for you, I adore cats.”

Jutting out his bottom lip, Ashton shrugs. “Yeah, they’re alright. I don’t like that weird stretchy leg-thingy they do when they clean themselves, though. It’s just freaky.”

Sticking his nose in the air, Luke turns on his heel and stalks out with a call of, “I bet they think the same thing about you when you shower!”

The sound of Ashton’s laugh follows him to the lounge, rich and warm and welcoming, and Luke finds himself smiling like an idiot, and quite honestly, he doesn’t mind. His butt has just made contact with the couch when Ashton emerges from the kitchen, a bag of tealights in one hand and a box of matches in the other. As Luke watches, he goes about the lounge, placing tealights on any safe surface, then starts lighting them, one after the other, until the entire room is filled with small, glowing balls of warm light.

“Ambiance,” Ashton states when he looks at Luke, taking in the smile and the quirked eyebrow Luke’s displaying. “I’m not great at romance, but I found these in a drawer in the kitchen the other day, and I figured I’d give it a go.”

“Candles are romantic, yeah,” Luke says. “Unless they’re scented. Then they’re just nauseating.”

“That could be romantic, too, though,” Ashton says. “I mean, I could rub your belly and put a cold washcloth on your forehead to make you feel better.”

“I don’t think that counts as romance,” Luke says, frowning pensively. “That’s more… domestic.”

“Domestic romance,” Ashton says.

It takes Luke a while to narrow down his list of movie candidates, and it takes him even longer to narrow it down to an acceptable length. Turning his head in the direction of the kitchen, he calls, “Hey, Ash?”

“Yeah?” Ashton calls back.

“Comedy, drama or Tarantino?”

“Since when’s Tarantino its own category?”

“Since just now.”

Ashton laughs. “Okay, fine, I’ll let you have it.”

“Thanks. Wanna watch _Once Upon A Time In Hollywood_?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been meaning to watch that! Love me some Leo, love me some Brad.”

“Even now that they’re old and wrinkly?”

“Especially now that they’re old and wrinkly.”

“Kinky.”

Ashton laughs again, but doesn’t answer.

While waiting for dinner to get ready, Luke nips at his wine and lets his mind wander along with his eyes. Though it strikes him as a bit of a fire hazard, he melts a little on the inside at the mood provided by the candles. Luke’s had a couple of candlelit dinners in the past, but they’ve always taken place in a restaurant, surrounded by other people, while he was dressed in stylish but uncomfortable clothes. This whole scenario is something else entirely. Far more intimate than any other date he’s ever been on, even though strictly speaking it isn’t an actual date, and far more relaxing as well.

Then another thought hits Luke, and it makes him subconsciously gnaw on his lip. Between the kissing, the dinner-making, the wine, the candles and the movie-watching, does Ashton want… _more_ from Luke? Does he want to end the night by taking Luke to bed? As he’s neither naïve nor necessarily stupid, Luke reckons there’s a pretty big chance that’s the case. Bottom lip still caught between his teeth, Luke throws a glance towards the kitchen as he considers the situation. 

He sincerely doubts that Ashton’s going to get mad if Luke turns down any potential advances, but Luke isn’t entirely sure if he’d even _want_ to turn down said potential advances. He likes Ashton a lot, finds comfort and reassurance in his mere presence, and he trusts him as much as he _can_ trust someone he’s only known for a few days.

Shaking his head once to clear it of any and all thoughts, he focuses his attention on the wine. Thinking in hypotheticals has never really gotten him anywhere, so he’ll cross that particular bridge if they get to it.

When Ashton finally joins Luke on the couch, it’s along with two plates loaded with food, and a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.

“It gets hot in there,” he says when Luke comments on it. “You know when you watch cooking shows and the chefs start sweating? I’ve never understood why until just now.”

As he starts cutting into the turkey fillet on his plate, Luke snorts. “You’ve never understood why it might get hot to stand over a bunch of boiling pots and pans? I thought I was the dumb one here.”

“You are, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to have my moments.”

Dipping the turkey-piece in some sauce, Luke puts it in his mouth and chews. “This is amazing,” he says, not bothering to swallow first. “What’s in the sauce?”

“Dunno,” Ashton says through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. “Butter, flour, chicken broth, some herbs and spices, heavy cream… can’t remember the rest. I started out following a recipe, but kinda started straying from it after the first two steps.”

Luke shakes his head, part fond, part incredulous. He knows for a fact that if someone asked him to make any kind of sauce from scratch without following a recipe, the end result would be an inedible pudding and a small fire. It may have happened one time. As he eats his way to the bottom of the food-pile, he expresses his gratitude on occasion by humming or grunting, and Ashton laughs every time, like Luke’s caveman-noises are the nicest tones that have ever hit his ears.

“I still can’t believe you claimed you didn’t know how to cook only a few days ago,” Luke says as he puts his empty plate on the coffee table.

Ashton, having finished his food several minutes earlier, moves over to Luke and wordlessly urges him to get his legs up on the couch. Once they are, Ashton nudges them apart before he flops down on his front between them, resting his chin on Luke’s chest. Despite the dim lighting in the room, his eyes appear as bright as ever as they look into Luke’s.

“And like I told you, I didn’t _know_ I could cook,” Ashton says. “And to be fair, I’ve mostly followed recipes.”

“But everything you’ve made has turned out amazing, and apparently you keep making sauces based on… like, intuition,” Luke argues as he places his hands flat on Ashton’s shoulders. “So, I think it’s fair to say that you _can_ cook.”

“Maybe. I’m gonna keep working on it when we get back home, apply to be on MasterChef and all.”

“You plan on wooing Gordon Ramsey with your intuition-based sauces?”

“Think it’d work?”

“If not, you could always try flirting with him. If your cooking skills aren’t enough, maybe your blinding smile and good hair will do the trick.”

Ashton’s face splits into a smile and he scoots up to plant a kiss on Luke’s chin. “You think so?” he asks. “Is that what did it for you, my blinding smile and good hair?”

“And the food, obviously,” Luke says. “The cuddles are nice, too.”

Dragging himself another inch or two up, Ashton presses his lips to Luke’s cheek, letting them linger for a few seconds before he pulls back a little. “What about the kisses?” he asks before creating a ghostly trail along Luke’s jawline, then back up to his cheek, punctuating the stop with another kiss.

Sliding one hand up to cup the back of Ashton’s head, Luke says, “The kisses are great as well.”

Nudging Luke’s nose with his own, Ashton hums before connecting their lips in a soft, languid kiss. Pulling back an inch or so, he mumbles, “They really are,” before diving back in, promptly swallowing Luke’s giggle. More than happy to indulge Ashton in whatever he wants, Luke sighs happily as he tilts his head and parts his lips. His breath hitches for a fraction of a second when Ashton licks into his mouth, but then he falls into it with a sigh and Ashton takes the opportunity to climb fully on top of Luke. Perching his hands on each side of Luke’s shoulders, he kisses, licks and nibbles slowly and without any obvious intent, and Luke’s grateful.

Luke shifts his hips a little to get more comfortable, propping his legs out to bracket Ashton’s hips in the process. His fingers comb through the long strands of hair at the back of Ashton’s head, and Ashton lets one hand drift further south to the back of Luke’s thigh, giving it a tentative squeeze that Luke responds to by humming happily. Embarrassingly fast, Luke finds himself at full hardness in his trackies and he can’t help the moan that spills over his lips when Ashton grabs a firm hold of his ass and starts kneading at the soft flesh. Gripping onto Ashton’s hips with his legs, his breath catches in his throat when Ashton grinds down; he only does it once, but it’s enough for Luke to realise that he’s not the only one sporting an erection.

With a final squeeze to Luke’s ass, Ashton brings his hand to Luke’s front. He presses the heel of his palm against the bulge in Luke’s trackies, and Luke’s breath stutters. Breaking the kiss, he lets out a soft moan as Ashton starts to move his palm in slow circles.

“Wait, wait,” he mumbles, grabbing a hold of Ashton’s wrist. Ashton stops immediately and lifts his head a little to be able to look Luke in the eyes, and Luke wants to scream at how amazing Ashton looks like this; lips a little swollen from kissing, eyelids heavy, cheeks flushed. He wants him so badly it physically hurts, but he remembers the promise he made to Ashton a couple of days ago, and he intends to keep it, even if it might ruin everything.

“Everything okay?” Ashton asks with a hint of worry in his voice.

“Yeah, I— well, it depends,” Luke says. 

Ashton frowns. “On what?” 

“On… I have to…” Luke trails off, shaking his head. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

“We don’t have to… do anything if you don’t want to,” Ashton says as his frown deepens. “I’m pretty happy just making out with you to be honest, and we only just kissed for the first time earlier today, so… just tell me if you wanna stop.”

“No, that’s not… it.” Swallowing, Luke lets his hands rest loosely on Ashton’s hips. “Remember the other day when we were on the couch and you said I could tell you if something was bothering me, and I said that it didn’t matter because… well, it just didn’t, but that I promised I’d tell you if it did end up mattering?”

Ashton nods slowly. “Yeah…”

“Okay. Well, it kinda matters now. I didn’t think it would, because I didn’t think we’d end up here, but now we have and I promised I’d tell you, so… I’m gonna tell you.”

“Getting a little worried here, Luke,” Ashton says with a soft chuckle as he cups Luke’s face, thumbing gently at his cheek.

Closing his eyes, Luke presses his lips together, willing himself to conjure up the courage to say what he both needs and, more importantly, _wants_ to say. “Please don’t, like, laugh or anything, okay? If it’s… if it’s a problem for you, we can stop right now, go to bed and tomorrow we’ll pretend like none of this happened, but— don’t laugh. Please.”

“Why would I laugh? Just tell me.”

“Okay.” Luke nods, more to himself than to Ashton. “I don’t— I mean, I haven’t— I… I’ve never done anything. With anyone.” Ashton’s frown shifts into one of confusion, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t laugh, doesn’t say anything, and Luke clears his throat and continues, “I know it’s not, like, what people consider normal when you’ve reached your mid-twenties, but I’ve never slept with anyone. I haven’t done anything at all except for making out and… yeah.”

Ashton’s eyes have gone wide, but he still doesn’t move, nor is he laughing. “Oh,” he says after a bit, and it comes out soft. “You haven’t… oh, wow.”

Luke’s face grows hot and he diverts his gaze to where Ashton’s hips are fit between his legs. “Like I said, I get it if you think it’s a total turn-off, because chances are I won’t be very good at anything, so we can just stop now and I promise I won’t be weird about it or anything, but… I promised I’d tell you if it ever became relevant and it felt pretty relevant now, because you’d probably have realised it by yourself at some point if we were to continue this, and that would’ve been awkward for us both, and I didn’t want that to happen, so I—”

“Luke, stop rambling,” Ashton says, and then his fingers are under Luke’s chin, tilting his face back up. Ashton’s smiling, but it’s not a mocking smile. It’s kind and a little bemused, but not mocking. “It’s not a turn-off, you muppet,” he says. “I’m pretty surprised, if I’m gonna be completely honest, but other than the fact that I really feel like I have to bring my A-game now, it doesn’t matter to me how many people you have or haven’t had sex with.”

Luke blinks. “It doesn’t? Really?”

“Really,” Ashton chuckles before he leans in and kisses the tip of Luke’s nose. “Are you sure you wanna do this with me, though? Don’t you wanna—”

“I haven’t been saving myself for my one true love or whatever, if that’s what you’re about to imply,” Luke interrupts, smiling crookedly. “That’s not why I haven’t done it yet.”

Ashton nods slowly, licking his lip. “Okay. Do you mind if I ask why, then? Not that it matters, really, but I’m a little curious.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Luke says. Mulling over what to say, he pushes Ashton’s t-shirt a few inches up and thumbs at the warm skin, finding some reassurance in it. “There’s no particular reason, really. It just hasn’t happened. I’ve gotten close a few times, but something’s always come up or it hasn’t felt right, you know? And it’s not like I’ve been trying very hard to make it happen either, I’m not in a rush, so I’ve always just figured it’d happen when it happened.”

“Good attitude,” Ashton says, and he’s smiling again. “But nothing’s gonna come up now, unless the fire alarm goes off or something, and… you think this feels right?”

“Well, on account of the five million candles you decided to light in here, I think the chances of the fire alarm going off are pretty good, but…” Luke trails off, and sucks in his bottom lip on a smile. “I really, really want to right now, you have no idea how much.”

“No, I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Ashton says before he grinds his hips down against Luke’s ever-persistent erection.

Luke’s grip immediately tightens on Ashton’s hips. “Jesus,” he chokes out.

Dipping his head to brush his lips against Luke’s, Ashton murmurs, “You’re sure you want this?”

“If you’re willing to, then yeah, I’m very sure,” Luke breathes, tilting his head to the side as Ashton starts sucking gently at a spot under his ear that has him squirming and in desperate need for _more_.

“Willing to,” Ashton chuckles. He drags the hand that isn’t busy propping himself up along Luke’s thigh, from the back of his knee and all the way up to his ass. “‘Cause getting down and dirty with you in any shape or form would strike me as such a hardship?”

Luke laughs, but it’s cut short by a moan when Ashton starts sucking on his neck again. 

They don’t talk much at all after that. Ashton continues ravishing Luke’s neck while stroking up the down the side of his body, while Luke subconsciously rocks his hips up, constantly chasing the friction that Ashton’s erection against his own provides. Eventually, Ashton breaks away from Luke’s neck, but before Luke gets the chance to protest, his lips are being claimed by a hard kiss that has his toes curl.

A little hesitant, not sure if it’s an okay thing to do, Luke lifts his legs and wraps them loosely around Ashton’s hips, digging his heels into the back of Ashton’s thighs. Judging by the way Ashton suddenly groans into the kiss and grinds down hard against Luke, Luke assumes he did something right. The problem is that Ashton keeps grinding down with the same intensity, and it doesn’t take long before Luke has to pull away from the kiss.

Tilting his head back, he closes his eyes and his mouth drops open as he clutches onto Ashton’s arms. A familiar heat is pooling in his stomach, expanding slowly, but steadily, and it feels different, he realises, when it’s someone else who’s causing it; more intense, in a way, building far more slowly than he’s used to.

“That feels… really good,” he says in between broken moans. “I think I— I… I’m gonna—”

Ashton stops moving, and Luke opens his eyes, tries to regain some semblance of control.

“Why’d you stop?” he asks, swallowing harshly. “I was—”

“Didn’t think you wanted to come in your pants,” Ashton says, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“I wasn’t gonna… come in my pants,” Luke mutters. When Ashton raises an eyebrow at him, he groans. “Fine, maybe I was.”

“Not that I don’t like being able to get you that worked up,” Ashton starts as he sits up and hooks a finger on the inside of the hemline of Luke’s trackies, “but if you’re okay with it, I’d really like to get a hand on you.”

Luke’s mouth feels dry as he nods and tentatively raises his lips a couple of inches from the couch, allowing Ashton to slowly pull his pants and underwear down until his cock springs free. For a few seconds, Ashton simply looks at it, and just when Luke’s starting to wonder if he has something to be ashamed of – he’s never thought he did, but who’s he to say? – Ashton wraps his fingers carefully around him with a murmur of, “Fuck, you’re lovely.”

As Ashton tightens his grip and starts moving his hand, Luke’s eyes flutter shut as he finds himself getting lost in the newfound sensation of having someone else’s hand on him. His breathing speeds up in no time and when Ashton drags a thumb over his slit, he groans and his hips buck up.

“Alright?” Ashton asks, voice a little gruff.

“Yeah, yeah, ‘s good, so good,” Luke pants. “Can you— a little faster?”

Ashton picks up his pace, tightening his grip just a tad in the process, and the hot tingling of a rapidly approaching orgasm hits Luke in the gut. When he loses it, it happens so suddenly that he doesn’t even have time to warn Ashton. With a series of staccato moans, his back arches sharply off the couch and he screws his eyes tightly shut as he spills all over Ashton’s hand and probably his own t-shirt.

As pleasure rolls over to make way for overstimulation, Luke reaches down and takes a lazy hold of Ashton’s wrist, wordlessly telling him to stop. He keeps his eyes closed for a little bit, and doesn’t open them until Ashton slides a hand under his t-shirt and strokes his fingers carefully up and down.

“You’re good at that,” he mumbles with a tired smile.

“What, giving handjobs or caressing your stomach?” Ashton asks as he retracts his hand and leans down to press a kiss to Luke’s parted lips.

“Both, but mostly the handjob-thing,” Luke says as he winds his arms around Ashton’s shoulders and pulls him closer, letting their lips meet in another kiss. Tangling his fingers in Ashton’s hair, Luke gives an experimental tug, and is rewarded with a groan and Ashton’s tongue in his mouth.

As they make out, Luke notices the rock hard press of Ashton’s cock against his thigh. He also notices the low noises that Ashton keeps releasing. Not for the first time, Luke wonders if Ashton can actually hear his thoughts, because suddenly he sits up and scoots away from Luke.

“I’m just gonna go take a shower,” he says as he rises to his feet and adjusts himself in his trackies. “I’ll be back in ten.”

“I— what?” Luke asks, dumbfounded as he watches Ashton backing away towards the stairs. “Don’t you want me to… help you out with— well, _that_?” The last word comes with a gesture towards the painfully obvious hard-on Ashton’s sporting.

Ashton grins. “Nah, it’s okay, I’ve got a perfectly good hand that can help me out.”

“Yeah, but… what?” Luke frowns at Ashton, tries to make sense of the situation, when it suddenly hits him over the head like a particularly heavy anvil. “Right,” he then says, nodding to himself. Tucking himself back in his trackies, he stands up and walks over to where Ashton’s standing right by the bottom of the stairs. “I don’t think I’d be _that_ bad at giving handjobs.”

Ashton’s eyebrows shoot up in apparent shock. “No, no, that’s not— Jesus, that’s not it,” he says quickly. “I just figured you’d had enough for one day.”

“Wouldn’t have hurt to just ask me,” Luke says with a shrug.

“No, you’re right, it wouldn’t. I’m sorry, I just— _Jesus, Luke!_ ” Ashton stumbles forward against Luke’s body, his face landing in Luke’s neck. “You don’t have to,” he says, though the tone in his voice suggests that he might actually die if Luke removes his hand from where it’s wrapped around Ashton’s erection in his trackies.

“I know,” Luke says as he starts jerking Ashton off in earnest, experimenting with different paces and grips until it seems like he’s found the right one. Ashton holds onto him with one arm around his waist, his breath hot and damp against Luke’s neck, and Luke never thought that getting someone else off would bring him such a sense of pleasure, pride and joy all rolled into one. But as Ashton nears his climax, he clutches Luke tighter and moans something that might be words, but also might just be nonsense, into Luke’s neck. It makes Luke feel hot from head to toe, and despite having come no more than five minutes ago, he realises that he could easily go for a round two.

Ashton comes with a throaty sound, biting down on Luke’s neck as he does, and Luke uses his free hand to help keep him upright as he shudders through his orgasm, eventually going still. His entire body weight slumps against Luke, who’s more than happy to be used as a support system, given the context.

“You were right,” Ashton says before he straightens up and plants a sloppy kiss on Luke’s cheek. “You’re not bad at giving handjobs. At all.”

Luke laughs, but he can’t deny that the compliment makes him feel both proud and relieved, because apparently he’s not a disaster at sex so far. “Thanks.”

“Hm. I’m tired. What time is it anyway?”

Turning his head to look at the large clock on the wall, Luke grimaces. “Almost eleven.”

“Ready for bed?”

“Yeah,” Luke says, taking a reluctant step back. He misses the close contact immediately. Looking down at his upper body, he makes a grimace of disgust at the mess there.

“Lovely look on you,” Ashton says as he starts walking up the stairs. “You should consider making that a weekly thing. Pair those leather pants with a cumstained t-shirt.”

Following in Ashton’s trail, Luke bites back a laugh. “You’re disgusting.”

“I’ve been told.”

When they reach the top of the stairs, Luke’s suddenly confronted with his lack of experience once again. How, exactly, does one say goodnight to someone they just got off with, and then proceed to go sleep in separate beds? How often does that happen, anyway? He assumes that usually, the two involved parties share a bed afterwards, or one of the parties goes home.

Scratching the back of his head, Luke coughs a little. “Well, I… goodnight, I guess,” he says. “I’ll set an alarm for nine tomorrow, so if I’m not up by ten, just come wake me. If you’re up yourself, I mean.”

Ashton cocks his head to the side. “What, you don’t like bed-sharing? I’m not a cover hog, I swear.”

“Huh?”

With a small laugh, Ashton shakes his head. “I figured you’d wanna sleep in the same bed. Not that we have to, of course, I just thought you’d want to.”

“Oh,” Luke says as a smile and a blush blossom on his face. “Yeah, no, I just didn’t know what the… protocol was.”

“No idea,” Ashton says easily as he grabs Luke’s hand and pulls him towards his bedroom. “Everyone’s got their own preferences, I reckon, but personally I’ve always been a big fan of post-coital cuddles. Not that should come as a surprise.” He doesn’t bother closing the door behind them before he sheds his clothes in a pile on the floor, jumps onto the bed and crawls under the covers.

“Nice ass,” Luke says as he starts removing his own clothes. The t-shirt gets its own spot on the floor, far away from anything else.

“Hm, thanks. You can have a closer look tomorrow,” Ashton says through a yawn.

Luke has no idea what he means by that, and he doesn’t ask. Slipping under the covers on the free side of the bed, he sighs happily when his head hits the cool pillow. He closes his eyes and shifts around a little until he finds a comfortable position, then sighs deeply as he waits for sleep to come.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Blinking, Luke looks at Ashton, who has an almost offended expression on his face. “Sleeping?” he tries.

“Like hell,” Ashton says. Flipping over to lie on his back, he holds his arms open and adds, “Come here.”

“I’m sleepy,” Luke grunts, but nonetheless shuffles over and lies down with his head on Ashton’s chest, front pressed against his side.

“You can sleep here,” Ashton says as he folds his arms around Luke and kisses the top of his head.

“‘S gonna get sweaty,” Luke says, albeit with a smile. Ashton pokes his waist before he starts fumbling with something on the nightstand. A moment later, the room falls into darkness and silence. Luke can hear Ashton’s strong, steady heartbeat, and he presses his lips against the first patch of skin he can find. As a bit of an afterthought, he says, “This is another first for me.”

“Sharing a bed with someone?”

“No, doing it naked.”

“Ah, right. What’s the verdict?”

“I like it,” Luke mumbles as sleep’s starting to sneak up on him. “Feels nice. Comfortable.”

“Hm, good.”

Luke’s already half asleep when he whispers, “Really good.”

Ashton noses at Luke’s hair and kisses it once again. “Go to sleep, babe. We can talk more tomorrow.”

Luke’s drifted off before the last word’s even out of Ashton’s mouth.

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

_Friday_

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

There’s a moment of slight panic hitting Luke in the gut when he wakes up Friday morning to the feeling of a naked body lying halfway on top of his own. Upon opening his eyes and pushing a few stray strands of hair out of his face, however, his gaze lands on black hair fanned over his chest and a toned arm flung across his waist, and the memories of last night come back to him.

As a smile stretches across his lips, he drags his fingers carefully along Ashton’s forehead, combing his hair away from his forehead. It’s not the first time he’s shared a bed with someone, but it is the first time he’s done it with someone he exchanged orgasms with the night before, and as silly as it might be, the thought makes him feel giddy.

Both unable to and uninterested in falling back asleep, Luke continues dragging his fingers through Ashton’s hair, pressing gently down against his scalp with each move. It feels good, is the thing, to be this close to someone, completely exposed and vulnerable, regardless of whether or not last night was a one time thing or if it’s going to happen again. In his mind, he hopes for the latter, though, even if only for the remaining two or so days of their stay up in the mountains.

At some point, though Luke doesn’t know how much time has passed, Ashton stirs. He doesn’t move away; quite the contrary, as a matter of fact, as he tightens his hold around Luke and hums low in his throat. “What time is it?” he asks, voice rough with sleep.

“Dunno,” Luke says. Throwing a look towards the window and noticing the bright gray hue sneaking in through a gap in the curtains, he adds, “Looks like it’s daylight, though, so… probably not too early.”

“Don’t wanna get up yet,” Ashton murmurs. “‘S warm here.”

“Hm. Wanna go back to sleep?”

“No, just don’t wanna move yet either.” Planting a kiss to Luke’s chest, Ashton scoots a little further up on the bed, until his head’s resting on the pillow next to Luke. “How do you feel?” he asks, lips ghosting against Luke’s cheek as they move.

Turning his head so that his nose is brushing against Ashton’s, Luke hums. “Good,” he says. “Really good. It was… I liked waking up like this.”

“‘Cause I’m naked or ‘cause you positively adore my bright and shiny persona?”

Luke’s cheeks heat up the slightest bit, but he laughs as he replies, “Can I say both? I do like that you’re naked, but…”

“But…?”

“I…” Luke trails off again, uncertainty clouding his mind; what is he allowed to say and not, exactly, in this type of situation? Is he allowed to say that over the course of the last few days, he’s come to really like Ashton in a decidedly non-platonic way, that he’s grown ridiculously fond of him and that he could probably fall in love with him if given the chance, or is that going to make things weird? If Ashton’s not on the same page, if he simply likes Luke as a friend who he happens to find hot enough to get off with, Luke confessing to anything at all would most definitely make things awkward, and he doesn’t—

“Hey, what’s up?”

Shaking his head to clear it of any and all thoughts, Luke finds Ashton propped up on one elbow, looking down at him with wide, quizzical eyes. 

“Nothing,” Luke says. “Just thinking.”

“Oh, that’s not what you wanna hear from someone you got off with less than twelve hours ago,” Ashton says, snorting. “Something wrong? Do you regret last night?”

“No, no, no,” Luke says hurriedly. “Definitely not. It was great, _you_ were great, I just… was it a one time thing or do you wanna, like, do it again?” It’s not what’s actually weighing on his mind, but he reckons it’ll do for now; it’s part of the truth, anyway.

Ashton smiles, eyes crinkling up with it, and he pushes himself up to cage Luke’s shoulders with his arms before he leans down and joins their lips in a swift kiss. “Depends on what you want,” he says. “I’m pretty much up for anything, as long as you don’t wanna… I don’t know, fist me, or whatever.”

Luke laughs loudly at that, he can’t help it, and as he waits for it to die down, he winds his arms around Ashton’s neck. “Not a known kink of mine,” he says. “Neither fisting nor being fisted.”

“Thank God,” Ashton says, bumping his nose against Luke’s. “No judgement on those who enjoy it, but it’s never been my thing. What do you want, then, if not anything related to a fist?”

Pulling Ashton in close for another kiss, Luke’s heart feels like it’s doing somersaults, and the feeling makes him giggle. “We’ve given each other _one_ handjob, and now you wanna know all my kinks, just like that?” he asks.

“Of course I do.” Ashton slots one leg between Luke’s and rolls on top of him, while holding himself up with his lower arms, and grins down at him. “No, you don’t have to share that with me, _but_ if you want a repeat of last night, I’m not opposed.”

Raising one leg, bent at the knee to align with Ashton’s hip, Luke bites his lip on a smile at the feeling of Ashton’s half-hard cock dragging against his own. “Good to know,” he says.

Ashton hums around a sharp exhale before he stoops down to claim Luke’s lips with his own. Luke sighs into it, and the kiss goes from relaxed to heated within a minute. As Luke can feel himself grow harder by the second, Ashton raises his hips slightly up with his knees and reaches down between him to grab a hold of both their erections. It doesn’t take more than a few pulls before Luke’s rendered incapable of returning the kiss properly, simply panting against Ashton’s parted lips. 

The sensation of Ashton’s naked body, his naked _cock_ , in full contact with his own body has him sweating and whimpering in an embarrassing short amount of time. He feels a little useless, but all he can think to do is to grip onto Ashton’s hips as he’s being brought closer and closer to the edge.

“Sorry, I— I’m sorry,” he moans brokenly when his orgasm starts pooling in the depths of his belly. Ashton’s face is buried in the crook of his neck, and he’s occasionally biting down on Luke’s skin, and all it does is to bring Luke closer to the edge even faster. “So close, I can’t— I—”

“Let go,” Ashton breathes. “Come for me, baby, come on…”

And Luke does, without a second thought. Throwing his arm over his eyes, he cries out as he releases between them, hips bucking at their own accord as he does. Ashton jerks him through it, and as Luke’s beginning to come down, Ashton’s hips stutter and he moans softly into Luke’s neck as he too reaches his climax.

Slumping down on top of Luke, their bodies sticky with sweat and cum, Ashton laughs breathlessly. Luke responds with a tired grunt and by sliding his hands up and down Ashton’s back a few times; it’s all he can find the energy to do.

Once he’s sufficiently caught his breath, Luke says, “Please tell me stamina comes with practise. Otherwise, I’m screwed.”

“You tell me,” Ashton says, face still buried in Luke’s neck. “I’ve had plenty of practise, but I didn’t last much longer than you.”

Luke snorts. “Great. So, you’re just naturally quick on the trigger, then, or...?”

Ashton lifts his head at that, frowning down at Luke. “Take the damn compliment, you muppet,” he says. “You’ve got me so hot and bothered that I’m back to being seventeen and virginal again.”

“I like it,” Luke says, grinning as he lets his hands come to a stop on Ashton’s shoulders.

Grinning back, Ashton drags his lips from Luke’s jaw and up to his cheek, ending on a kiss. “So… coming on commando, huh?”

“I—” Luke clamps his mouth shut as his face grows hot. “Maybe. Apparently. I don’t know.”

Ashton’s eyes glint in the dim light. “No shame in that. I can work with it, if you want me to.” Without waiting for Luke to respond, he rolls over on his own side of the bed and further up on his feet. Walking over to Luke’s side of the bed, he holds out a hand. “Come on, let’s go shower, then I’ll make us breakfast. How does pancakes sound?”

They shower together and it’s a lazy affair in which they switch between cleaning each other’s hair and kissing. As Ashton’s rubbing shampoo into his scalp, Luke wonders briefly if this is what being in a relationship is like; waking up together, getting each other off, then just staying close to one another while helping each other get ready for the day. Once clean, dry and dressed, Ashton makes good on his promise of making them pancakes for breakfast, and they eat while watching the news.

“If I had it my way, they’d just do a news segment once a day that was, like, all positive news,” Ashton says. “No talk of wars and forest fires and murders and the economy going to shit. Just happy stories.”

“Sounds like a good way to become a completely oblivious jackass,” Luke laughs.

“No, no, not _instead_ of negative news, just in _addition_ to the negative news,” Ashton says. “Imagine waking up every day and knowing that at, like, seven o’clock, there would be a fifteen minute segment where a couple of anchors shared positive things that had happened in the world in the last twenty-four hours.”

“And then afterwards we’d get all the negative news at once?” Luke asks, making a face. “That kinda sounds like getting a sugar high; you’re all happy for a short while, then crash completely.”

“Okay, fine, we’d get the negative stuff first, then the positive stuff,” Ashton says as he lies down with his head in Luke’s lap, looking up at him. “Can’t you try and pitch that to Daniel when we get back?”

Luke flicks Ashton’s nose. “I get to pitch potential stories, not… completely new segments.”

“What would happen if you tried?”

“I’d get smited, obviously.”

“Might not be so bad, if the result was, like, super cartoony,” Ashton muses. “Hair sticking up, a bit of soot on your face, clothes torn apart.”

“The hair and the soot is fine, but if some higher power sent a lightning bolt my way and it wound up destroying my clothes, I’d have to become a very, very vengeful man.”

Turning his head to the side, Ashton buries his face in Luke’s stomach as he laughs. “That sounds very accurate, based on what I know you to be like,” he says. “Going vengeful over clothes… yeah, that sounds about right.”

“The only thing I’d go proper vengeful over,” Luke says. “Kill all my loved ones, light my flat on fire, get me fired, blow up my whole home town – I don’t care. But mess with my clothes and you’re in a lot of trouble.”

“That might be scarier if you didn’t resemble an actual bunny.”

“A _bunny_?”

“Or something equally cute and fluffy.”

Grabbing a handful of Ashton’s hair, Luke gives it a careful tug. “Sounds like you’re calling me fat, but okay.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant,” Ashton says dryly. “Let’s change the topic before this gets ugly.”

“Okay. What do you wanna do today?”

“Jump in the spa maybe? We kinda forgot yesterday.”

“And once again you’re accusing me of having _forgotten_ about the spa,” Luke snarks. “I didn’t forget, I was distracted.”

“Oh, yeah, I might be partly to blame for that,” Ashton says, shooting Luke a blinding smile. “In my defense—”

“There’s nothing to defend,” Luke laughs. “I was just pointing out that I had every intention of getting in the spa sometime between dinner and the movie, but then things happened and neither the movie nor the spa wound up happening.”

“We went for a walk, had dinner, lit up the fireplace _and_ made out on the couch, though,” Ashton says. “I’d say that’s pretty solid as far as Thursdays go.”

“We could repeat the walk, the dinner, the fireplace and the making out today, but throw in a round in the spa and a movie today, and we’ll have an even more solid Friday,” Luke suggests.

“We already did the making out, though.”

“Oh, so we can only make out once a day? Okay, sure, no more making out today, then.”

“As if,” Ashton says with a snort. “No, we’re gonna make out while taking a walk, we’re gonna make out in the spa, we’re gonna make out while watching the movie, we’re gonna make out while we eat, we—”

“ _While_ we eat?” Luke all but shrieks. “Swapping spit is one thing, but swapping food is where I draw the line.”

“You’re no fun.”

They do end up going for a walk in the end, and they return to the stone ledge they found themselves at yesterday, where they spend a solid twenty minutes sitting on the cold ground at the foot of a tree, liplocked and touching every patch of bare skin they can find on each other. It’s late afternoon by the time they get back, and Ashton whips up some sort of vegetable soup for a late lunch before they find their way to the spa.

“I like this better,” Luke says. He’s sitting between Ashton’s legs, back resting against Ashton’s front, Ashton’s chin resting on his head while his arms are folded carefully around Luke’s waist.

“Better than what?” Ashton asks.

“Than us sitting on opposite ends of the spa,” Luke says, intertwining his fingers with Ashton’s.

“Yeah. Me, too,” Ashton murmurs. “It was fun making you all flustered, though. I’m gonna miss that.”

“Don’t be mean,” Luke says. “Of course I was flustered, you kept insinuating things and I didn’t know how to respond, because… you know.”

“Yeah, but it was funny,” Ashton reasons.

“To you, maybe,” Luke grumbles. “Jerk.”

“Hey, I’m a total sweetheart.” Ashton kisses Luke’s temple. “Does it really bother you?”

“That you like flustering me?” Luke asks, and Ashton hums in confirmation. “I don’t know. Not really anymore, I guess, since you know the reason why now and you’re not a dick about it. It wasn’t as much fun when you didn’t know, because… well, I had no idea how you’d react if you did know.”

“Hm, sorry about that. I wouldn’t have done it if I knew. Were you really worried about how I’d react, though?”

Shifting around so he can rest his cheek against Ashton’s chest, Luke shrugs. “Suppose. You never know how people are gonna react to admissions like that, you know? Things that are seen as… abnormal in one way or another, and I didn’t want you to think of me as some sort of freak.”

“You told me the other day that you wished you had one and a half thousand dollars to spend on a shirt, and you were still worried that the fact that you hadn’t had any type of sex yet was gonna make me see you as a freak?”

“You really are a jerk and I hate you.”

“Sorry,” Ashton laughs. “But… no, I get it, I think. We don’t know each other _that_ well and… there’s nothing wrong with not having had sex no matter how old you are, but I guess it’s not the norm after you reach a certain age, so I see your point.” Lowering his voice to a whisper, he adds, “I appreciate that you told me, though.”

“I promised you I would,” Luke says before pressing a kiss to Ashton’s pec. “And… I’m glad I did. When was your first time, then?”

Ashton laughs. “What? Why do you wanna know?”

“Dunno. Only seems fair. You have this intimate knowledge about me, but I don’t know anything about you when it comes to… well, that.”

“Eye for an eye, huh?” Ashton asks. “Okay. I was sixteen when I got my first handjob and blowjob, seventeen the first time I fucked a girl, twenty the first time I fucked a guy, twenty-two the first time I took it up the ass. Never given or gotten a rimjob.”

“Oh my God,” Luke says, unable to keep himself from giggling. “Okay, great. I appreciate the honesty.”

“Uh-huh. Any more questions now that we’re at it?”

“Maybe.”

“Come at me, then.”

Tracking mindless patterns into Ashton’s toned upper arm, Luke presses his lips together as he thinks. “Do you… like all of it?”

“What, sex?” Ashton asks, and Luke nods. “Sure, yeah. Getting fucked is a bit of a hit and miss, sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s… not, but yeah.”

“Oh. And… do you have a preference for gender, or is it… you know, equal?”

Ashton makes a noncommittal sound. “I tend to go for girls, like I said yesterday, but if I come across a guy that I like, the sex is just as good as with any girl.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t enjoy it any less with you than I would with a girl, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Luke smiles, because yeah, maybe he was worried about that. “Okay,” he says again. “That’s… good. I’m glad.”

They sit in silence for a bit after, bodies immersed in the hot water while the cold, crisp air flows around them and the sun is starting to set. Ashton holds Luke close to his own body, occasionally placing a kiss on whatever part of him he can reach, and Luke returns the sentiment, more often than not accompanied by happy sighs. As is always the case when it comes to Luke featuring heat, he starts feeling sluggish when sometime has passed, and he pulls himself up, exposing most of his upper body to the cold. Turning around to straddle Ashton, he steadies himself with his hands on Ashton’s shoulders.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” Ashton says, grinning as he drags his hands up and down Luke’s stomach.

Leaning forward, Luke captures Ashton’s bottom lip with his mouth, biting gently down before he pulls back an inch. “Hi,” he says again. Ashton doesn’t respond with words this time, choosing instead to initiate another kiss. Letting himself fall into it, Luke exhales soundly when their tongues brush against one another, and he pushes down against Ashton’s crotch, earning a stuttering breath in response.

“Where’s this going?” Ashton asks, breaking the kiss. “Because if it’s any further than kissing, we should probably get out of here.”

Instead of saying anything, Luke gets up on his feet and climbs out of the spa, and Ashton doesn’t waste a moment before he follows. They’re dripping water all over the cabin as they make their way to Ashton’s bedroom, leaving their swimmers in a heap by the foot end of the bed before they tumble over, landing on their sides with Luke’s leg draped over Ashton’s.

“What do you want?” Ashton asks, his voice raspy as he flips them over so that Luke’s on top, straddling his hips.

Looking down to where Ashton’s erection is lying heavy against his stomach, Luke swallows. “Can I… can I blow you?” he asks.

“Fucking hell, you— yeah, if you want to,” Ashton says. He takes a deep breath when Luke starts shuffling down on the bed, getting settled between his legs, and reaches down to drag his fingers through Luke’s hair.

Nibbling at his bottom lip, Luke looks up to meet Ashton’s gaze as he grabs a hold of his cock and leans in to give the head a small lick. It doesn’t taste much at all, probably thanks to the time they spent in the spa. “Tell me if I do something wrong,” he says, giving it another lick. “Or… if I do something right, I guess. I— I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“I will,” Ashton says, and it comes out vaguely strangled. “Just try whatever feels right and I’ll let you know if it’s not working for me, yeah? Don’t worry.”

Luke nods and draws a deep breath before he dives back in, this time wrapping his lips around the head and taking it into his mouth, keeping his hand wrapped around the base. Ashton groans softly, and Luke starts sucking tentatively while taking another couple of inches into his mouth.

“Careful,” Ashton pants when Luke tightens his jaw. “You don’t have to suck hard, just— _oh_ , shit, yeah, that’s— yeah.”

As it turns out, once he’s sorta gotten the hang of it, giving a blowjob isn’t nearly as difficult or daunting as Luke thought it would be. Within a few minutes, he’s managed to get most of Ashton’s dick into his mouth and he’s found a rhythm that doesn’t make him choke and that also has Ashton groan and swear. His own cock is leaking precum and he reckons it’s good to know that he quite enjoys giving blowjobs, enough that wave after wave of pleasure washes over him for every, “Yeah, just like that,” and, “Fuck, Lukey, you— _Christ!_ ” that tumble out of Ashton’s mouth.

“Luke, baby, I’m— you have to— shit, you’ve gotta pull off,” Ashton breathes, his fingers tightening in Luke’s hair as he attempts to pull him off. Pulling up, but not completely off, Luke hums and shakes his head. He continues sucking at the head, wrapping his hand around the rest of Ashton’s dick, and Ashton groans. “I’m gonna come, Luke, you— you have to— fuck, fuck, _fuck_ , you have to pull off right now unless you want me to come in your mouth.” When Luke just hums again, he groans again, louder this time. “You _want_ me to come in your mouth?” Luke manages to nod, steading himself with a hand on Ashton’s hip as Ashton’s starting to fall apart, thighs quivering. When the first splatter of cum hits Luke’s tongue, he lets out an involuntary moan, and he can feel Ashton’s hips twitch as he comes, his fingers digging almost painfully into Luke's scalp.

Once Ashton has gone still, Luke sits up, wiping spit and a couple of drops of cum from his chin. He moves up on the bed, lying down on his side next to Ashton. “Was that okay?” he asks, and he’s surprised at how rough his voice is.

“Yeah,” Ashton says. He closes his eyes, drags his hands over his face before flipping over to lie on his side, facing Luke. “Yeah, you did… amazing, especially for a first time. Gimme me a moment and I’ll return the favour.”

“It’s okay, I can—”

“If you’re about to say you can deal with it yourself, save it,” Ashton chuckles. “Unless you actually don’t want me to blow you, I’m doing it.”

And he does, after a bit. He does it with a lot more finesse than Luke, and Luke doesn’t last for more than three minutes or so before he’s coming harder than he ever has in his life with the tip of his cock brushing against Ashton’s throat. He tries to muffle his moans against the back of his hand, but it’s no use, and he gives up about halfway through, letting his arm fall to the side as he lets himself fall into the white-hot pleasure Ashton’s giving him.

His breathing comes and goes in shaky, whimpering heaves after Ashton pulls off and lies back down next to him, one arm flung lazily over Luke’s chest. “So good,” he mumbles. “I like blowjobs.”

Ashton chuckles. “Me, too. You okay?”

“Very okay, a lot okay.”

“A lot okay,” Ashton repeats. “Wanna take a nap?”

“Dunno. What time’s it?”

“It’s…” Ashton trails off, shuffles around a little, then says, “Almost six.”

“Then no. If I nap now, I won’t wake up until… late.”

“Hm. Hungry?”

“Kinda. What’s on the dinner plan today?”

“The dinner plan went out the window on day two,” Ashton says as he sits up. “Want pizza? I can probably bake some buns, shouldn’t be too difficult, and I know there’s pizza sauce and mushroom and pepperoni and parmesan and spinach and… well, a lot of potential toppings in the fridge.”

“Pizza sounds nice,” Luke says, stretching his arms over his head. “Are we disgusting if we don’t bother showering before we get dressed?”

“Might wanna find a wash cloth and wipe our faces, but… I reckon a fresh layer of deodorant and some clean clothes is good enough since we’re not entertaining guests or anything.”

“Yeah? If movies are to be believed, one should always shower right after sex.”

“Depends on how sweaty it gets, I suppose,” Ashton says as he rises to his feet and starts searching through his bag, presumably for something to wear. “I’m fine without a shower if you are.”

Luke nods as he drags himself into a standing position. “Yeah, I’m alright,” he says. “Just gotta go find something to wear. Meet you downstairs in a few.” He receives a smack on his ass on his way out, and if that makes something akin to pleasure tingle up his spine, then… well, that’s interesting.

Getting dressed in the first and best sweater and pair of pyjama pants he finds, Luke gives his face a quick rinse in the bathroom before he heads to the kitchen, where Ashton’s already busy measuring up flour, water and yeast. He presses a kiss to the back of Ashton’s neck before he grabs a block of cheese from the fridge and locates a cheese grater in one of the drawers, wordlessly getting to work. By the time he’s satisfied with the amount of cheese he’s grated, Ashton’s kneading a large lump of dough on the counter. He’s grimacing at the stickiness of it, plucking at a string of dough hanging from his thumb, and Luke smiles as he watches.

“Need me for anything else?” he asks.

“No, I think I’m good, unless this… dough tries to kill me,” Ashton says without looking up. “If you hear me scream, call 911 and tell them that a vicious flour-based monster is on the loose.”

“You got it,” Luke says. On his way to the lounge, he licks a stripe along the side of Ashton’s face for good measure, giggling when Ashton groans in disgust.

Luke’s phone is still where he left it on the coffee table earlier, and after he’s sat down and connected his Spotify to the Chromecast, he starts checking his notifications. The only thing that catches his attention is a missed call from Calum from about half an hour ago. Turning down the volume of the music, he presses the call-button and holds his phone to his ear.

Calum picks up after half a dozen rings. “ _Hey, there you are!_ ”

“Here I am,” Luke says. “What’s up?”

“ _Not a lot,_ ” Calum says. “ _Just wanted to check in, see how you’re doing._ ”

It’s only then that it hits Luke that he hasn’t had a chance to update Calum on the recent developments between himself and Ashton yet. Making a face, he clears his throat. “I’m fine. Very fine. There’s… something kinda happened yesterday.”

“ _Okay…_ ” Calum says slowly. “ _Like what?_ ”

Shooting a quick glance towards the kitchen, Luke lowers his voice before he responds. “Like… we kissed.”

“ _You kissed,_ ” Calum repeats. “ _Okay. Anything else?_ ”

Luke pinches the bridge of his nose. “There may have been… handjobs. Last night and this morning. And then blowjobs earlier today.”

“ _You— oh fucking shit, Luke, why?_ ” Calum groans.

“Because I wanted to?” Luke asks rhetorically. “Because… he’s kind and funny and I like him?”

“ _Oh,_ ” Calum says. “ _Right, yeah, good answer._ ” There’s a beat of silence, then: “ _So… does he know that he was your first… whatever?_ ”

“I told him last night before anything happened.”

“ _And?_ ”

“And he was sweet about it.”

“ _Yeah?_ ”

“Yeah,” Luke confirms. “He was… understanding, and kept asking if I was sure I wanted to— well, you know.”

Calum sighs, but when he speaks up again, Luke can hear the smile that’s stretching across his face. “ _That’s nice. I’m happy for you._ ”

“Thanks.”

“ _Yeah. So, what are you two, then?_ ”

Luke grimaces. “Dunno. We haven’t talked about it yet.”

“ _At all?_ ”

“At all.”

“ _Don’t you think you should?_ ” Calum asks. “ _You’re gonna run into each other at work sooner or later, and if just keep getting off together and then don’t discuss it before your week’s up, it’s bound to get real fucking awkward._ ”

Luke blows a heavy breath through his nose. “Yeah. I know. I’m gonna do it, just gotta figure out… how. And when.”

“ _Not the easiest conversation to have, so… I get it,_ ” Calum says. “Just do it before you get back home, yeah? Because if you don’t, I foresee a lot of awkwardness and hurt feelings and whining in not only your, but also in my _future._ ”

Luke closes his eyes as he shakes his head on a smile. “Your support is touching as always, Cal.”

“ _Yeah, yeah, you know I only have your best interests at heart,_ ” Calum says, and yeah, Luke does know that. “ _So, what’s up? Where’s loverboy?_ ”

“In the kitchen, making us pizza for dinner,” Luke says.

“ _Oooh, he’s cooking for you, is he?_ ”

“Has been since day one.”

“ _Thank God. Is he any good?_ ”

They talk back and forth for a solid twenty minutes, Luke telling Calum everything about life in a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains, while Calum tells Luke about how his sister might be moving to Raleigh for a job by the end of the year. When Ashton emerges from the kitchen, declaring that the pizza is in the oven, Luke bids Calum goodbye before dropping his phone to the couch.

“Don’t pizza buns have to… you know, rise for a while before you put topping on them?” he asks.

“Not if you Google a recipe where they don’t have to rise,” Ashton says as he sits down next to Luke. “I’m good at planning, you see.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m not.”

The pizza finishes baking within fifteen minutes or so, and once they’ve got a plateful each in their laps, they get _Once Upon A Time In Hollywood_ playing. It’s an odd and quite confusing movie, Luke decides, but he enjoys it nonetheless and about halfway through, he starts wondering what the movie’s actually about. As it’s drawing to a close, he voices these thoughts to Ashton, who shrugs while sipping on a can of Coke.

“Could be a lot of things, I reckon,” he says, dragging his hand slowly up and down Luke’s thigh. “I mean… This guy sees the industry he used to know changing and he doesn’t know how to cope with it, so maybe it’s about that? An inability to cope with change?”

“I guess, yeah,” Luke says. “Maybe… no, I don’t know.”

“No, hey, tell me,” Ashton says, leaning in to kiss Luke’s cheek. “I wanna know what’s going on inside that pretty head.”

“Just a whole lot of bullshit, for the most part,” Luke laughs. “No, I just… I don’t know, I guess it’s about change in general, maybe? If you look at it head-on, it’s about how Hollywood has changed since the 60’s or whatever, but if you look at it from other angles, it could be about… change in the world in general? Like that little girl that Leo’s character was talking to on that porch, she could be representing… a new generation, not just in Hollywood, but in the world as a whole. A new way of seeing the world, new views on life being presented by the younger generation to the older one? Or a warning, maybe, that… if we don’t adapt to the new world order, we’ll all become washed up and useless sooner or later.” He falters slightly towards the end, feels his face grow hot at the pseudo-intellectual movie analysis he just pulled out of his ass. “Nevermind. I don’t know, just… random thoughts.”

“Beautiful thoughts, if you ask me,” Ashton says. “I never would have thought of it that way, but it makes a lot of sense, because we’re all fucked if we don’t adapt, aren’t we?” Luke simply smiles and nods, and Ashton chuckles. “Don’t be embarrassed. I love hearing your thoughts on things, and that was a really interesting one, in a good way.”

“Probably not at all what the people who made the movie had in mind, though.”

“Does it matter?” Ashton asks. “It’s all in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? The beauty of art and all that; you see what resonates with you, the part of the art piece that you connect with, nothing more and nothing less, and I guess what you saw was a societal viewpoint, and that’s interesting as fuck. A little unexpected maybe, but not in a bad way.”

“Yeah, I… I guess.” Pecking Ashton’s lips quickly, Luke smiles. “Thanks.”

Ashton’s eyes crinkle up as his lips pull into a smile. “For what?”

“For… I don’t know. Giving my thoughts the time of day, I guess.”

“You don’t exactly make it hard, but… you’re welcome,” Ashton says. Letting his body fall sideways onto the couch, he drags Luke with him, and they shift around until Luke’s blanketing Ashton’s body from head to toe. Brushing his lips against Luke’s air, Ashton murmurs, “You’ve got a unique type of intelligence. An interesting one, it’s fascinating.”

Letting himself fall into the embrace, Luke says, “Sounds like you’re calling me stupid, but okay.”

“I’m not,” Ashton says. “Just saying you’ve got a particular way of seeing the world, and it’s a good thing.”

It’s a casual statement, perhaps, but it’s one that Luke chooses to hold onto for the rest of the evening. When they head upstairs around midnight, both tired and with heavy footsteps, Luke doesn’t question it when Ashton pulls him towards his own bedroom. They get undressed and Ashton chooses to act as the big spoon, molding himself against Luke’s back under the covers.

“You’re lovely,” Ashton whispers, the words breaking through the darkness surrounding them.

“Thank you for saying it,” is all Luke can think to say, and maybe he doesn’t need to say more. Maybe it’s enough.

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

_Saturday_

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

Despite it being their third walk in as many days, Luke still finds himself mesmerised by the scenery that make up their surroundings. He clutches onto Ashton’s hand throughout the entire walk, occasionally rubbing his thumb against Ashton’s, and he doesn’t let go until they’ve returned to the cabin, simply because it feels good. It may also have something to do with the fact that the knowledge that this is their last full day here has been scratching at the back of his brain all day, tainting everything they’ve done since they woke up.

It may also be because the sun was already setting when they headed out, and by the time they make it back, it’s almost fully dark. Luke’s not _afraid_ of the dark, per say, but he sure as hell doesn’t appreciate it when it’s paired with thick, unknown forests either. He says as much to Ashton when they’re eating dinner a solid hour and a half later.

“People who actually like dark forests shouldn’t be trusted,” Ashton responds through a mouthful of garlic bread. “They’re probably aliens or vampires or ghosts.”

“Mhm, and they shouldn’t be judged for having certain preferences,” Luke says as he sticks his nose in the air. “Don’t be an ass, Ash.”

“My sincerest apologies, didn’t know you were the defender of all supernatural beings.”

“Someone has to be, those guys don’t have many supporters in the mainstream community, you know. It’s a real problem, it tears the world apart, limb by limb.”

“Limb by limb,” Ashton repeats, nodding seriously. “Zombies are in the mix, too, then, I take it?”

“Absolutely. They’ve had a hard time since _The Walking Dead_ hit the screens, a lot of prejudice going around.”

“So, they don’t eat people?”

“Oh, no, they do, but it’s who they are and I think they should be allowed to express that without having everyone judge them for it.”

“Ah, yes, of course. Do you have an organisation I can join to show my support, or?”

“Yeah, I’ll email you the details later.”

Ashton laughs, a loud and joyful sound that goes straight to Luke’s heart. “Okay, well, since we’re on the topic of the supernatural and since it’s almost Halloween… Do you have any stories?”

“What, like… ghost stories? Those things designed to creep out kids at sleepovers?”

“Or actual encounters, I guess.”

“Are you asking me if I’ve ever seen a ghost?” Luke asks, raising an eyebrow.

Ashton shrugs as he scoops the remaining salad on his plate onto his fork. “Maybe,” he says before he puts the food in his mouth and sets the plate aside. “Have you?”

“I don’t really believe in that kind of stuff, so no, can’t say that I have,” Luke says.

Ashton waits for Luke to finish his food before he replies. “Don’t you think it’s a little arrogant to assume that everything that exists between heaven and hell is the things we can perceive with our, frankly, limited senses?” he asks.

Curling his legs up underneath himself, Luke turns sideways to face Ashton, resting his arm on top of the back cushions. “Maybe, but I also think that believing that something more exists is just… us humans being desperate for there to be more to life than what we experience on a daily basis,” he says.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Ashton asks as he mirrors Luke’s position, their knees brushing against each other. “Life can really kick your ass sometimes, for some people it’s all the time, and if believing that there’s more to it than what we can see makes it easier to cope, I don’t see the problem.”

“I think that goes for religion and things like that, not ghosts,” Luke laughs. “But either way, that wasn’t really the point I was trying to make.”

“What was the point you were trying to make, then?”

“That I don’t believe in ghosts and that I think people who do just like the idea of the supernatural for whatever reason.” Ashton opens his mouth, clearly to protest, but Luke chuckles and beats him to it. “I never said there’s anything wrong with it, it’s just my view on the whole… topic.”

“Okay, well, I don’t agree with you, because I actually do have a story to share.”

Luke blinks. “Okay?”

“Want me to tell you?”

“Sure.”

Ashton purses his lips for a moment, then nods. “Okay, so, back home in Australia, my grandparents had this house far out in the middle of nowhere, right? It was an old house, had been in the family since my grandma’s grandpa built it way back in the day. My grandparents died within a few months of each other when I was eleven, and my mum inherited the house since she was their only child, but she didn’t wanna keep it, so she worked out an agreement with her cousin, who bought it and immediately started changing the floors and tearing down the wallpaper and whatnot. I went out there to help her a few times, and—”

“Let me guess: The ghosts of your grandparents didn’t like that your mum’s cousin did all this renovation and they started scaring her to make her stop.”

“No, smartypants,” Ashton says dryly. “My grandma had this room that was all hers, my grandpa never went in there, and it was a really beautiful room, and I remember that my grandma was super proud of it. My mum’s cousin probably would have left it the way it was to, like, honour my grandma’s memory, at least for a while, but she had three kids and needed the space, and the wallpaper in there was this pretty garish floral thing that… I don’t know, it was beautiful when the room was my grandma’s, but after she died, it just looked weird, you know?”

“Hm, yeah, that I can understand,” Luke says, and he does. He tells Ashton the story of the rocking chair that his family received after one of his paternal great grandmas passed away when he was a child; he loved that chair whenever they went to visit her, always found it beautiful and welcoming and he spent many an evening sitting on his great grandma’s lap while she told him stories from her childhood. When it was in _their_ lounge, however, and the reason it was there was that its real owner was gone, he hated it, because the positive energy that used to radiate from it seemed to have been buried six feet under along with his great grandma.

“Exactly,” Ashton says, smiling softly when Luke finishes his story. “Well, so me and my mum’s cousin tore down all the wallpaper in there, right, and then we started working on getting a new wallpaper up. We went to bed, everything was fine, but when we came down the next day, all the new wallpaper had just fallen off, it was lying on the floor across the room. And no, there was no open window in there, there was no air vent and the door had been closed all night, too, and the only people in the house were the two of us.” Ashton shakes his head, as if the memory alone is enough to make him feel absolutely incredulous. “And it kept happening, again and again and again, no one could explain what the hell was going on, not the carpenters, not the painters, no one. In the end she wound up putting up wood panels instead of wallpaper.”

“Okay, I mean… it’s strange, for sure, but do you really think… that it was your grandma’s ghost not wanting you to renovate the room?”

“Maybe not a ghost, per say, but some part of her energy that stuck around after her death, yeah. I really think so.”

Luke keeps his eyes locked with Ashton’s, sees the completely earnest belief he has in his theory embedded in the irises. “I don’t necessarily agree,” Luke says. “But I’m not gonna fight you on it either. I… I don’t know, I guess everything’s possible, and it’s not like you can ever prove that something _doesn’t_ exist, especially not something like that.”

“You can’t, no,” Ashton says as he intertwines his fingers with Luke’s. “Want me to light a fire?”

“I’m fine, but go ahead if you’re cold.”

“Nah. Hey, I found a bag of brownie mix in the kitchen; wanna whip it up?”

“You want _me_ to do it?” Luke asks.

“I was thinking we could do it together, actually.”

“Because baking brownies from a bag is a two person job?”

Ashton sticks his tongue out before he stands up and holds out both hands to help Luke up. “No, because it sounds like fun,” he says as he pulls Luke to his feet and starts dragging him towards the kitchen.

“Sounds messy and potentially kinky,” Luke says. “Are you punishing me for not believing in ghosts?”

Ashton doesn’t dignify him with a response before he starts pulling out the needed ingredients, along with a cake tin.

“Do you wanna crack eggs or melt butter?” Ashton asks.

“Depends on whether or not you want pieces of eggshell in your brownies,” Luke says.

“As delicious as that sounds, how about we save it for another time?” Ashton says as he hands Luke the butter. “Four tablespoons, pans are in the corner cupboard.”

Melting butter is a rather dull, but hardly challenging affair that even Luke manages without fucking up. Once he’s done and he’s holding the pan out for Ashton to take, he still grins proudly, though, and Ashton rewards him with a pat on the butt and a kiss on the cheek. Maybe doing things that require a minimal level of skill and then act proud for having managed to do said thing successfully is a hobby he should consider taking up. Ashton pours the butter into a bowl where the brownie powder and the cracked eggs are already mixed together, and starts stirring it in using a wooden spatula. Watching the process for a full ten seconds, Luke walks up behind him, wrapping his arms around Ashton’s waist and perching his chin on his shoulder. 

“You’re being a very clingy kitchen assistant,” Ashton remarks.

“I wanted attention and yours was on the cake instead of on me,” Luke says.

Putting the spatula down, Ashton turns in Luke’s arms before he spins them both around, pressing Luke up against the kitchen counter. “Sorry, baby, it’ll never happen again,” he says.

“You better mean that,” Luke says.

Brushing his lips against Luke’s, Ashton nods. “I do,” he says. “You have my undivided attention from now on.” And then his lips are pressing demandingly against Luke’s, his hands coming down to cup Luke’s ass through his trackies, and Luke doesn’t hesitate to give back as good as he gets. The cake is all but forgotten about as their tongues drag against one another, and when Ashton's grip on Luke’s ass becomes more insistent and he pulls the cheeks slightly apart, Luke whimpers and pulls Ashton closer as he grinds their hips together. The friction makes his already half-hard dick twitch, and when he grinds forward again, Ashton meets him halfway while simultaneously continuing to squeeze Luke’s ass.

While their breathing becomes more and more laboured and their dicks grow harder and harder, it dawns on Luke that he knows exactly where he wants this to go. The moment he comes to that realisation, he pulls back, afraid that if he waits a second too long to ask for it, he’ll lose his nerve. 

“Ash, I— Ash, wait, wait,” he pants. He rolls his lips as he rests his forehead against Ashton’s, forcing himself to gather enough courage to ask, “Can we… you know?”

“No, I don’t know, actually,” Ashton says with a curt chuckle. Nosing at Luke’s neck, he sucks gently at a patch of skin before he lifts his head, peering into Luke’s eyes. “What do you want? Tell me.”

“I— well… everything, I guess?”

“Everything,” Ashton repeats after a beat of silence. “As in… _everything_?” Another pause. “You wanna fuck?”

Feeling his cheeks heat up at the crude terminology, Luke nods. “Yeah, if… if you wanna.”

Ashton regards Luke for a bit, some of the dark lust in his eyes giving way for something far softer and brighter. “Are you sure?” he asks. “Kind of a big step, innit, when you only had your first handjob two days ago and we haven’t even gotten fingers involved yet?”

“I— maybe, but…” Luke diverts his gaze to the floor, then shrugs. “I mean, despite my lack of experience, I am an adult, and... I really want to.” He lets the, ‘ _With you_ ’ on the tip of his tongue go unsaid.

“Look at me,” Ashton murmurs, punctuating the request with a kiss to Luke’s temple. Luke lifts his gaze, and Ashton smiles. “If you’re absolutely, one hundred percent sure, I’d love to go there with you, I really would.”

A surge of relief and happiness courses through Luke, and he nods quickly. “I’m sure.”

“A hundred percent? Because—” The rest of whatever he was about to say gets drowned when Luke surges forward and captures his lips in a kiss that’s wet and filthy right off the bat. Ashton lets out a sound that’s part pleasure, part surprise, but doesn’t waste any time before he starts kissing back. Luke’s only subconsciously aware of it when Ashton spins him around and starts backing him up, out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

Breaking the kiss when they reach the bottom of the stairs, Ashton mumbles, “Bedroom. I’m not gonna let you have your first time on a couch or the floor or up against the wall or whatever,” in response to Luke’s unhappy whine.

Though he whines once again as he follows Ashton up the stairs, Luke’s heart feels full as he repeats Ashton’s words in his head. It’s a small act of kindness and care, perhaps, for Ashton to want to get him in an actual bed rather than to just do him on the first and best surface available, but it still serves to make him even more certain that he’s made the right choice. He still remembers when he was in a club three years back or so, and a guy he’d been talking to all night and, drunkenly, confessed to being completely inexperienced to, told Luke that he’d be happy to fuck him in a bathroom stall to help him get it over with. Despite being beyond drunk that evening, Luke declined the offer, ignoring the guy’s eyerolls, and then ran off to find Calum.

The situation he finds himself in in Ashton’s bedroom now doesn’t compare to that night in any way. He’s sober, for one, and he cares about and trusts the man who’s kissing him silly while slowly undressing him, and despite being slightly nervous, he feels confident in thinking that Ashton will do what he can to take care of him. They remain standing by the foot of the bed, kisses growing increasingly frantic as one clothing item after the other hits the floor until they’re both naked.

“You doing okay?” Ashton asks, digging his fingers into the soft flesh of Luke’s ass. “You know you can change your mind at any time, yeah? Just say the word and we’ll stop.”

“I don’t wanna stop,” Luke mumbles, poking his tongue out to drag quickly along Ashton’s bottom lip. “I want this.” Hesitating for a split second, he adds, “I trust you.”

It would seem that being told he’s trusted is some sort of turn-on for Ashton as the next Luke knows is that he’s being pushed down onto the bed, Ashton falling on top of him and resuming the kiss with a groan that has Luke’s cock twitch. Grabbing a hold of Luke’s waist with both hands, Ashton starts rolling his hips, making their erections knock into each other with each forward thrust. Whimpering quietly, Luke presses his feet to the mattress and starts rocking his hips to meet Ashton’s, digging his fingers into the small of Ashton’s back as he does.

“Christ, you feel good,” Ashton breathes, breaking the kiss but continuing to move his hips. “Got the most amazing body. Gorgeous face. Make the hottest sounds.” 

Luke moans at the praise, and as much as he’d love to give a couple of compliments in return, all he can manage through the cloud of lust occupying his brain is to flatten his hands against Ashton’s back to press him closer to his own body.

“Beautiful baby boy,” Ashton murmurs. He licks a stripe along the expanse of Luke’s neck before lifting his head, just enough to be able to see Luke’s face properly. His eyes are hooded, his hair a mess and a thin sheen of sweat has started forming on his forehead, but the smile he offers Luke is somehow still gentle and reassuring. “You really are,” he says softly. “Beautiful, I mean, in case no one’s ever told you. Everything about you.”

As hot as he’s already feeling, the temperature in the room seems to increase further, and Luke sucks in his bottom lip on a smile. “I’ve been told, kinda, but… not in this context. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Ashton echoes.

“Hm.” Stroking up and down Ashton’s back a couple of times, Luke smiles back. “You’re not half bad yourself, just so you know. Your body’s all… strong and amazing, and you have these really bright eyes and your smile is—” Luke interrupts himself upon realising how mushy he must sound. Blushing furiously, he clears his throat and says, “Nothing. You’re really hot.”

Ashton’s eyes crinkle up as his lips pull up in a smile. “And you’re sweet,” he says as he leans back in to reconnect their lips in a searing kiss that somehow seems to carry more weight than it did two minutes ago. Luke feels protected, in a way, by Ashton’s body being a warm, heavy presence on top of his own, and he does all he can to convey as much through the way he’s touching him, kissing him, moving against him.

When Ashton eventually pulls away and sits up between Luke’s spread legs, his cock is leaking pre-cum and it’s all Luke can do to not surge forward and lick it up. Maybe another time, if he gets the chance. Shuffling off the bed, Ashton steps over to his suitcase and crouches down to rummage through a pocket on its inside before standing back up with a wrapped condom in one hand and a bottle of lube in the other.

“Do you still want this?” he asks as he settles back down between Luke’s legs, putting the condom and the lube down on the mattress.

“Yeah,” Luke says as he pushes his hair back from his forehead. “Yeah, I want it. Please.”

Ashton nods, but it seems to be directed more at himself than at Luke. His eyes drift from Luke’s thighs, up to his hips, his stomach, his chest, his throat, and eventually to his face, taking everything in, one inch at the time.

Feeling a little self conscious under Ashton’s intense gaze, splayed out completely naked, his cock hard and flushed pink against his stomach, Luke swallows thickly. “How do you wanna…” he trails off.

Placing his hands on Luke’s thighs, Ashton smiles. “It’s up to you,” he says. “I prefer topping, but if you’d rather I bottom, I’m fine with—”

“No, I— no,” Luke cuts in. “I want you to— yeah. That’s not what I meant, I just… how do you want me?”

Ashton’s lips part in understanding. “You’ll probably be the most comfortable on all fours or lying on your front, but like I said, it’s up to you.”

Luke takes a moment to mull it over before he moves to flip over to lie on his belly, then props himself up on his hands and knees. Lowering his lower arms to the mattress, he swallows while fisting nervously at the sheets. He feels unbelievably exposed and vulnerable like this, showing off more or less everything he has to show off while unable to see Ashton’s reaction. A part of him wishes he’d forgone Ashton’s advice and just stayed on his back.

“Is this… is it okay like this?” he asks when a few seconds have passed. “I don’t— I mean, I’m pretty comfortable here, but I don’t know if it’s okay with… with you.”

“Fucking hell,” Ashton says with a curt, breathless laugh as he puts his hands on Luke’s ass, kneading gently with his thumbs. “The only person in the world who could be looking like a filthy piece of art and still wonder if _I’m_ okay with it.”

Luke smiles as his cheeks flush. “Okay, I… okay. I’m good, then.”

“Yeah?” Ashton shifts around a little, then Luke feels a kiss being pressed to the bottom of his spine. “You’re absolutely sure about this?”

“Of course I’m sure,” Luke says. “Just… get on with it.”

“Oh, and he’s being impatient now,” Ashton remarks before giving Luke’s ass a light slap.

Luke gulps at the barely-there tingling sensation that goes straight to his cock. Biting down on his lip, he mumbles, “That felt good.”

“What did?” Ashton asks. When Luke doesn’t respond, he chuckles low in his throat, then delivers another slap to Luke’s ass, a little harder this time. “This?”

Nodding hastily, Luke shifts his hips a little higher up. “Yeah.”

“Fuck,” Ashton laughs, but the word comes out barely audible. “Of course you’d be into that.” 

The mattress shifts again, then the sound of a bottle cap being opened reaches Luke’s ears. He closes his eyes and waits, a white-hot feeling of anticipation expanding, but never bursting, inside him. Ashton drags a hand along the expanse of Luke’s back, warm and reassuring, before coming to rest at the very bottom of his spine.

“This isn’t completely new territory for you, right?” he asks, and Luke hears him squirt lube onto his fingers.

Luke shakes his head as his cheeks grow hot yet again. “No, I’ve… yeah.”

“Just fingers or…?”

“Does it matter?” Luke mumbles.

“Just trying to get a feel of your ass’s level of experience, baby,” Ashton says easily.

Luke smiles at that, and heaves a sigh before he responds. “Toys, too.”

Ashton grunts. “Fuck… You’re gonna have to show me one day.”

The idea of using a toy on himself while Ashton watches is equal parts mortifying and arousing, and Luke whines low in his throat as he moves around a little. A couple of loaded minutes pass, then Ashton prods carefully at his entrance with a lube-slicked finger. Luke’s breath catches in his throat from the sheer novelty of the situation, and as Ashton works his finger inside, one inch at the time, his cock gives a desperate twitch.

“You okay?” Ashton asks once his finger’s pushed inside, all the way to the knuckle. He keeps his free hand on Luke’s hip, fingers digging into the soft flesh.

“Yeah, it’s okay, it’s good,” Luke says with a nod. “Just gimme a second before you continue.” Reaching for the pillow in front of him, Luke yanks it forward and presses his cheek to it. Drawing a deep breath, he says, “Okay, you can— yeah. Another.”

Ashton complies, albeit slowly and carefully, and Luke’s grateful. As eager as he is to be where he is, as much as he trusts Ashton to go easy on him, as turned on as he is, he can’t help the slight hint of nervousness that’s settled somewhere around his diaphragm. But as Ashton works in the second finger, then the third, he keeps stroking Luke’s back, kneading at his hip, and asking if he’s doing okay. And Luke keeps nodding as his breath grows heavier, until Ashton crooks his fingers while buried inside him, and Luke cries out and his arms give out underneath him.

“Found it,” Ashton declares rather unnecessarily while Luke fights to hoist himself back up on his arms. Pressing his fingertips against Luke’s prostate, Ashton chuckles when Luke cries out again, the sound muffled into the pillow. “There we go,” he murmurs as he pulls his fingers almost all the way out, then pushes back in. “You’re doing so good, baby… you look amazing, wish you could see yourself.”

The praise combined with Ashton’s fingers fucking into him drags a noise out of Luke that’s somewhere between a moan and a whimper. Pushing his hips back, silently encouraging Ashton to go harder, faster, _anything_ , he reaches a shaky hand between his legs and grabs a hold of his own cock. He jerks himself to the rhythm of Ashton’s fingers, and just as he thumbs over his wet slit, Ashton gives a hard prod to his prostate, and he sobs out, “Oh, God…”

“Don’t,” Ashton says, voice firm, and before Luke can even react, Ashton’s grabbed a hold of his wrist and is pulling his hand away from his cock. “Patience, baby boy. You’ll get there.”

“I will if you get your fingers out of my ass and replace it with your—” He’s cut off by Ashton’s hand making sharp contact with his ass, and he whimpers out a surprised, “ _Oh_!”

“Patience,” Ashton says, and Luke knows he’s smiling. He can hear it. 

Ashton continues to open him up, alternating between scissoring his fingers and downright abusing Luke’s prostate until Luke’s entire body’s shaking and he has to force his hands to clutch onto the sheets instead of jerking himself off. Sweat is covering his entire upper body, and a drop runs down the side of his face, and he screws his eyes shut while clenching his jaw in pure desperation.

Eventually Ashton pulls his fingers out completely and presses a lingering kiss to Luke’s lumbar. “Think you’re good to go?” he murmurs.

“I’ve been good to go for at least ten minutes,” Luke snaps.

“God, you’re a brat when you want something,” Ashton sniggers. He rips open a condom wrapper, and a few seconds of silence follow as he puts it on. “Be happy you’re cute, or I’d might consider just leaving you here to take care of yourself.”

The threat creates a ball of heat that shoots through Luke, and he grunts. Ashton grabs onto his waist with one hand as he guides his cock to Luke’s entrance with the other. Luke’s breath hitches when he feels the head nudge inside, and he focuses with all his might on relaxing.

“Breathe, Lukey,” Ashton says as he rubs along Luke’s side. “It’s okay, just tell me if it’s too much or if you wanna stop.”

Swallowing thickly, Luke nods as he inhales deeply, then lets it back out. He repeats the process a couple of times before he tells Ashton to continue. Ashton goes slowly, almost torturously so, and Luke feels the slight quiver in his thighs against the back of his own. The knowledge that he’s not the only one battling something contributes to make him relax, and when Ashton eventually bottoms out, Luke is able to focus on the fullness and how good it feels to have an actual cock inside him rather than a toy.

“Feels good,” Luke breathes after a bit, dragging his face against the pillow. “Different than… anything else I’ve tried. Better.”

“Good to know I can knock a plastic dildo out of the park,” Ashton says with a strangled chuckle.

“Silicone, thank you very much.” 

Ashton leans down until his chest is flush against Luke’s back, nosing at the sweaty curls at the base of his neck. “Beautiful, beautiful boy,” he whispers, his hot breath fanning over Luke’s already overheated skin. “Let me know when you want me to move, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Luke says, swallowing. “Just gimme a bit, I— it’s… a lot to get used to.”

Ashton presses a kiss to Luke’s neck. “Take all the time you need. I’ll wait.”

A small part of Luke, the part that occasionally likes being a little shit for the fun of it, wonders how long he _could_ make Ashton wait. That part is easily pushed aside by the part that just wants to appreciate the moment, though. He keeps his eyes closed as he simply feels Ashton all around him, hears the laboured, yet controlled breathing behind him, their bodies, sweaty and on high alert, closely connected.

“Go on,” he says after a bit. “Just… carefully, please.”

With a final kiss to Luke’s neck, Ashton straightens up. Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulls out, then pushes back in at the same pace. Luke draws a shaky breath and releases with a small noise, and Ashton repeats the movements a few times before asking if Luke’s okay and if he can go a little faster, to which Luke nods jerkily.

“Words, Luke,” Ashton says, punctuating the demand with a gentle smack to the side of Luke's hip.

Moaning, Luke nods again. “Yes, you can— yeah, do it.”

And Ashton does. For each thrust, he picks up his pace a little more, and when the head of his cock nudges against Luke’s spot and Luke sobs out, he stays at the same angle and keeps the same pace. Luke buries his face fully in the pillow, moaning into it for each time Ashton slams back inside, and he reaches for his cock, wraps his fingers tightly around it, but doesn’t move.

“Fuck you feel good,” Ashton pants, raking his blunt fingernails down Luke’s back while using his other hand to hold such a tight grip on Luke’s hip that he’s sure to be bruised tomorrow. “Feel amazing, look amazing, sound amazing, taking it so fucking well.”

Luke lets out a broken moan and tightens his grip around his cock. “Can you— your hand, please.”

“My hand what?” Ashton asks. Luke wiggles his ass slightly, hoping that Ashton will take the hint, but Ashton just chuckles. “I already told you, you gotta use your words, baby.”

“Oh my _God_ ,” Luke whines. “Just— you know what I mean!”

“How can I know? You haven’t told me,” Ashton says, and it sounds too much like a damn taunt. Drawing almost to a complete halt deep inside Luke, Ashton nudges against Luke’s prostate over and over and over again until Luke’s eyes are starting to tear up.

“Fine!” he snaps, and his cheeks are flaring up before the next sentence is even out of his mouth. “You— please spank me.”

Ashton’s brings his hand down as soon as the words have tumbled over Luke’s lips. “See? All you had to do was ask,” he murmurs when Luke cries out loudly. “Not too much, though, and tell me if you want me to stop, yeah?”

“Mhm,” is all Luke manages to get out, but it seems to be good enough for Ashton as he starts fucking into Luke in earnest.

More than just a little overwhelmed by everything his body’s being exposed to, Luke starts stripping his cock. He can feel his back arch sharper and sharper, and it aches, but he can’t help it, and when Ashton presses his hand flat against the mid-section of Luke’s back, as if to hold him down, the first hints of his orgasm start surging through him. While Luke bites down on the pillow, Ashton delivers another smack to his ass, and Luke’s lips part as a high-pitched moan forces its way out.

Heaving on an exhale, he asks, “I’m— Ash, can I— please?”

Ashton’s hips stutter for a moment before he picks his pace back up with a groan. “You— Christ, are you asking me for permission to come?”

“I— yeah, I— please, fuck, I can’t hold—”

“Oh God, you’re something else,” Ashton pants. “Yeah, go on, baby, go on.”

It doesn’t take Luke more than a few more tugs before he’s spilling all over his own fist and the sheets underneath. His thighs shake with it and his abdominal muscles contract as he lets out a string of moans and whimpers. Ashton fucks him through it, his thrusts growing increasingly frantic as he chases his own climax. He reaches it when Luke, exhausted and over-sensitive, clenches around his cock, and he slams into Luke one last time with a hoarse, "Fuck!"

Breathing heavily, Luke lets his legs give out underneath him as soon as Ashton’s stilled completely inside him, and Ashton follows him down. It’s slightly uncomfortable, having a grown man’s entire body weight blanketed on top of him, but Luke still smiles when Ashton starts pressing lazy kisses to the back of his shoulder.

“You okay?” Ashton asks, and he sounds about as tired as Luke feels.

“Mhm,” Luke mumbles. “‘M great. Thanks for… well, that. We forgot the cake, though.”

With a final kiss to Luke’s back, Ashton chuckles as he pulls out carefully and flops down on his back next to Luke. His hair is matted to his head, and his face is shining with sweat, but his eyes… they’re decorated with embers, white-hot and intense, as they take Luke in. He sits up for a moment to roll the condom off and tie it, tossing it to the floor before he lies back down.

“I think that’s the first time someone’s _thanked_ me for sex, but… you’re welcome, I suppose,” he says. Flipping over to lie on his side, he combs back the wet strands of hair that are glued to Luke’s forehead. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

Luke smiles tiredly. “I’m not made of glass, Ash. I’m okay, really. And… I thanked you because— well, it was amazing. Don’t think I could’ve imagined a better first time even if I’d tried.”

Ashton positively beams at that, and Luke can’t help the giggle that tumbles over his lips. “I’m glad to hear,” he says as he thumbs carefully at Luke’s cheek.

Pulling his bottom lip in with his teeth, Luke asks, “So… was it okay for you?”

Ashton blinks once, twice, thrice, before he bursts out laughing. He stops when he sees the affronted look on Luke’s face, but traces of amusement remain. “Sorry, I just… you really are something else,” he says. “What the hell makes you think it wasn’t good for me?”

“I _don’t_ think so, necessarily, I was just… curious,” Luke says defensively. “It was great for me, but it’s not like I have much to compare to, which you do, so...”

“Absolutely impossible, you are,” Ashton says. Sliding over on his back again, he holds his arms open and Luke all but throws himself into the embrace, head coming to rest on Ashton’s chest. Holding Luke tight, Ashton kisses the top of his head, then says, “It was great for me, too, baby boy. Amazing, even, so don’t worry, you’re not bad in bed.”

Smiling, Luke says, “Good. And… I like that nickname.”

“What, ‘baby boy’?” Ashton asks, and Luke hums in acknowledgment. “Yeah, well, it suits you. Baby boy.”

Closing his eyes, Luke sighs at the sated feeling in his bones, and his entire body seems to grow even laxer with it.

“So,” Ashton starts, “spanking, asking for permission to come _and_ a bit of begging, all during your first time?”

Luke grimaces. “Was that— I mean, was it bad that I— you know?”

“Did you hear me complaining?” Ashton asks. Luke shrugs, and Ashton blows a raspberry. “No, none of it was bad. I liked it. It was just a little unexpected.”

Humming, Luke shrugs again. “I’ve always liked the idea of… well, all of that. Was nice to find out I liked actually doing it, too.”

“Dirty boy,” Ashton sniggers.

“Says you,” Luke retorts, though it comes out with zero heat.

“Never said it didn’t apply to me as well,” Ashton says. “I’m a dirty boy and I’m fine with it.”

“Uh-huh, care to share?”

“What makes me a dirty boy?” Ashton laughs, and Luke shrugs noncommittally. “Sure, since you’re asking.” He pauses for a beat before he speaks up. “I like… domming my partner, I guess, play around with pain and orgasm denial and some bondage. Breathplay, taunting language, assume clear roles, if the other person’s into it. It’s not something I’ll dive into with a one night stand, but it’s pretty much my favourite thing to do with a girlfriend or a boyfriend.”

Luke’s throat feels a little constricted all of a sudden, and if he wasn’t so damn exhausted, he’d probably get hard again just from listening to Ashton talk about the things he’s into. He wonders if he’ll ever get to be on the receiving end of any of the things Ashton just mentioned, or if this, right now, is the last time he’ll be in the presence of Ashton’s naked form. The thought makes his heart crack just the slightest bit at the seams, and he’s fairly certain it doesn’t have anything whatsoever to do with the sex.

“Wanna take a shower, then go sleep in your bed?” Ashton asks. “This one’s disgusting, and so are we.”

“Can’t believe you’re calling me disgusting after I just let you fuck me senseless,” Luke mutters, but nonetheless crawls out of bed, wincing at the sharp ache that shoots from his ass and up his spine, and heads into the bathroom with Ashton following right behind.

They clean each other off with sluggish, lazy movements, and once they’re done, Ashton wraps his arms around Luke from behind, creating a trail of soft kisses along the side of his neck. Luke closes his eyes and leans into it, savours the moment for as long as it lasts. He feels Ashton starting to grow hard against his ass at some point, but neither of them make a move to do anything about it, and Luke finds some strange sort of happiness in it. 

It’s a promise of unconditional affection, and right there and then, it’s all Luke wants.

Once they’re both dry, Ashton takes Luke’s hand and pulls him through the door that leads into Luke’s bedroom. It smells fresh and clean in there, especially when compared to Ashton’s bedroom, and after hitting the lights, they crawl under the covers and return to their previous position without speaking a word. And for a while, that’s how they exist, in each other's arms, Luke listening to Ashton’s heartbeat while Ashton buries his face in Luke’s damp hair. The window’s wide open, letting in a steady flow of cool air, and every once in a while, a gust of wind makes the trees outside rustle.

“Hey, Ash?” Luke says when they’ve lay in silence for a while.

“Hm?” Ashton hums as he drags his fingers lazily up and down Luke’s back.

“We’re… we’re going home tomorrow.”

Ashton huffs out a small laugh. “Way to ruin my post-coital bliss,” he says. “Thanks.”

Smiling, Luke shakes his head. “No, I just… I’ve been wanting to ask you something,” he says. Ashton’s only response is to give Luke’s shoulder a squeeze, but Luke takes it as encouragement to go on. “Okay, so… we’ve basically violated the whole ‘ _don’t shit where you eat_ ’-thing in the last few days, right? ‘Cause, like… we don’t work together, per say, but we work in the same building and occasionally run into each other.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s where I know you from.”

Luke rolls his eyes. “Uh-huh. I was just— I mean, we’re bound to run into each other when we’re at work, right?”

“Yeah… and?”

“And… is it gonna be weird?” Luke asks, voice having dropped a notch or two in volume. “Is— I mean, was— do you… do you wanna continue this when we get home, or was it just a… holiday fling of sorts? And if you wanna continue, is it— like, do you want it to be a… physical thing only or do you want, like, more?”

Ashton’s hand stops mid-stroke, and he seems to still completely for a second. “Oh,” he then says, effectively sending Luke’s heart barreling to his stomach.

“Shit, sorry,” Luke says, attempting to laugh. “I didn’t mean to, like— I don’t know, I just… thought I should ask since we’re going home tomorrow and I have no idea what this thing we’re doing is, but nevermind, you don’t have to answer right now. Or ever, if you’d rather not. It’s okay.”

It’s not okay, though, is the thing, because Luke truly has no idea what he’s going to do the next time he runs into Ashton at work if he doesn’t know what they are to each other. Even a blatant rejection in the shape of a, ‘ _It’s been fun, but it’s over the moment we get home_ ’ would be better than not knowing. Luke’s heart would take a solid punch if Ashton was to tell him anything along those lines, but he’d get over it in due time, and at least he’d _know_.

“No, no, I get what you’re saying,” Ashton says after a bit. “Truth to be told, I haven’t given it much thought, because… I don’t know. It was just nice to be in this little bubble with you without a care in the world, you know? I didn’t wanna think about going back home and have to face reality.”

“I get that,” Luke says before pressing one, two, three kisses to Ashton’s chest. “And… I’ve been trying not to think too much about it, but now our week’s almost up and I didn’t wanna, like, leave the conversation for when we were already back to living our regular lives.”

“Yeah,” Ashton sighs. He tightens his hold around Luke with both arms, and Luke closes his eyes and sinks into it. “I wish we had another week, preferably another month here, but... “

“But we don’t,” Luke finishes.

“We don’t, no.” Ashton falls silent for a long time, but Luke can practically hear him think and he chooses to let him; he only hopes that whatever Ashton’s thinking, it’s something positive. “I like you a lot, in case that hasn’t been made clear already.”

Luke smiles, nuzzling into Ashton’s chest. “Good. I like you a lot, too,” he says.

“Hm. You’re… funny, sweet, kind, patient, observant, beautiful, occasionally smart. You’ve got the most amazing smile. And… lovely lips, lovely ass, lovely cock.”

“It started out so sweet, borderline romantic, and ended up being semi-pornographic,” Luke says, snorting.

“Just the way I roll, babe,” Ashton laughs. “Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll take it.”

“I appreciate that.” With a sound exhale, Ashton hauls Luke further up on his chest, then kisses his forehead. “My point, anyway, is that I like you, a lot more than I’ve liked anyone in a long time, and I know we’ve only known each other for a total of a few days, but… if you’re up for it I’d like to keep seeing you when we get back.”

Luke’s heart does a double-beat, and he lifts his head. He’s barely able to make out the lines of Ashton’s face in the darkness, but it’s enough. “Seeing me as in… like, booty calls?”

Ashton shrugs. “I was thinking more along the lines of… dating, or something. Go out for dinner, go to the movies, get coffee together, hang out at home, go for walks in the park, get to know each other properly and see where it goes, you know.”

Luke giggles. “Yeah, thanks, I’m familiar with the concept of dating.”

“Ah, so if I ask you out for dinner, you won’t assume it’s just a friendly get-together?” Ashton asks, feigning wonder.

“Probably not, no.”

“Good to know, love. So… what do you say?”

“I… yeah, I’d like that, too,” Luke says, leaning down to capture Ashton’s lips in a quick kiss before adding, “Dating you, I mean.”

“Yeah?” Ashton says, and Luke’s not entirely sure how to interpret the obvious surprise in Ashton’s voice; was he honestly thinking Luke _wasn’t_ interested in seeing him again once they were back home? A part of Luke appreciates it if that’s the case, because it’d mean he’s not the only one of them who’s struggled with some insecurities.

“Yeah,” Luke confirms. Biting his lip, he hesitates for a beat before opening his mouth again. “But it’s not, like… you’re not just saying that because you feel like you’re obligated to, right?”

“What?” Ashton laughs. “No, why would I feel…” He trails off as something akin to understanding flies over his face, and he nods slowly. “Ah, because I took your virginity.”

“Oh, jeez,” Luke groans, grimacing violently. “I hate that word, it’s absolutely ridiculous and it doesn’t mean anything at all outside American rom-coms, but… essentially, yeah.”

“Okay, so because I was your first, then,” Ashton offers. Waiting for Luke to give a nod, he smiles. “No, that’s not why. I’m gonna be honest, I’d have felt pretty bad if I had to tell you that I wasn’t interested in anything more, but I would’ve done it, if that was how I felt. But that’s _not_ how I feel, so it’s a non-issue. Like I said, I really like you, regardless of whether or not I was your first.” Pause. “Though, to be fair, a part of me kinda likes that particular aspect of our relationship.”

“Yeah, I think that’s called the caveman gene,” Luke says dryly. A sudden realisation hits him, then, and his eyes widen. “Oh my God.”

“What’s wrong?” Ashton asks, quite alarmed by the sudden change of tone by the sounds of it.

“I— my ass is _sore_ , more sore than it’s ever been, and we have a four-hour car ride tomorrow!”

Ashton’s face goes completely blank for a moment before he dissolves into giggles, pulling Luke close and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “We’ll stop along the way to let your ass get some rest, yeah? I’m not in a rush.”

Luke grunts. “I should’ve thought about that before I let you fuck me.”

“Yeah, ‘cause it’s not like _you_ were the one to ask _me_ to fuck you,” Ashton chuckles. “Sorry, baby boy. Pretty sure I used as much lube as I could without leaving my dick pruned.”

“Sexy,” Luke says. Knitting his brows together, he grins weakly. “Hey, why was there lube in your suitcase, anyway?”

Ashton doesn’t miss a beat. “Because it makes jerking off way better.”

“And the condoms?”

“Just in case.”

“Oh my God, Cal was right,” Luke says with a dramatic gasp. “Your intentions with me _were_ dishonourable.”

“Not at first, they just became dishonourable when I realised how cute you were.”

Pressing a kiss to Ashton’s chest, Luke says, “You’d seen me a few times before you invited me up here. You already knew how cute or un-cute I was.”

“Yeah, but I meant, like, your personality. I knew you were hot, sure, but I didn’t expect you to have an attractive personality as well.”

“Oh,” Luke breathes before he can stop himself. Smiling so widely he feels like his face is about to split in half, he nuzzles into Ashton’s chest. “Right back at you.”

Ashton hums low in his throat. “Thanks.”

“So… when do we have to leave tomorrow?”

“We have to be out of here by eleven according to the papers, a cleanup crew will be here at eleven thirty, so…”

“Okay. Wanna aim for ten thirty, then?”

“Yeah, sure.” Ashton sighs. “I don’t wanna go home, like… at all.”

“Me neither, but I don’t think work or bills or any of our responsibilities care about what we want, to be honest.”

“They could at least be a little considerate. I’m generally a decent person, I should get some perks every now and again.”

Luke giggles. “Doesn’t this trip count as a perk?”

“Stop being logical, I wanna whine.”

“I thought being whiny was my thing,” Luke says. “If you take that away from me, I don’t know what I’m bringing to the table here.”

“A lovely ass,” Ashton says. “Like, really lovely.”

“Ah, right, forgot about that.”

“I didn’t. I’ll be dreaming about it every night for the foreseeable future.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

_Sunday_

｡ﾟ❁ུ۪ °ₒ 𓂂 ˚ 𓂂 ₒ ° ₒ 𓂂 ˚˖⋆

“That’s not— Jesus Christ, Mike, that’s none of your business.” Chuckle. “No, I— yeah, fuck off, will you? I’ll be back home around four o’clock this afternoon, we’ll talk then.” Pause. “You’re disgusting.”

Vaguely aware of Ashton’s voice talking right next to him, Luke snuffles as he rolls over on his side, flinging out an arm in a blind search for Ashton’s body. He finds it a little further away than he likes, and slides over to rest his head on Ashton’s shoulder before asking, “Wha’s it?”

“Morning,” Ashton says, pressing a brief kiss to Luke’s temple. “It’s Michael.”

Luke grunts. “Too early. I’m sleepy.”

Ashton doesn’t get the chance to say anything at all before a shout comes from the other end of the line, loud enough that Luke is able to decipher the words. “I fucking knew it!”

Drowsy as he is, Luke can’t help but giggle when Ashton says, “Bye, Michael,” and hangs up before tossing his phone to the foot end of the bed.

“Sorry,” Ashton says. “He’s just… I don’t know, excited or something.”

“What, that you got laid?”

“No, he’s used to that, I think he’s more excited that... “ Ashton huffs out a laugh, rubbing his nose against Luke’s forehead. “I don’t know. Nothing.”

“Tell me,” Luke says, delivering a poke to Ashton’s stomach. “He’s more excited that…?”

Ashton huffs, but it’s an amused and fond sound that makes Luke’s stomach flutter with untamed butterflies. “That… that I finally met someone I actually like, I guess,” Ashton says.

“As opposed to what?” Luke asks.

“As opposed to desperate attempts at making ill-fated relationships work,” Ashton says. “And one night stands.” Pause. “There have been a fair few of those.”

There’s a hint of something resembling jealousy slapping Luke across the face, but it’s fleeting, and he hums. “What does that make me?” he asks. “Something in between?”

Ashton smacks his lips, and his chin drags across the top of Luke’s head when he shakes his head. “You’re not close to being either, baby boy,” he murmurs. “You were unexpected, you were a very happy accident that just happened when I least expected it, and I fell for you. Simple as that.”

Whimpering quietly, Luke asks, “You… fell for me?”

“I did,” Ashton says, and the nervous tremble in his voice is nothing but a reassurance as far as Luke is concerned. “I fell really fast and hard. Sorry if that freaks you out, I know it's… a little soon.”

“No, it— no. No freak-outs,” Luke says. “I like you a lot, I told you that last night, and I— yeah. You make me laugh and you’re kind and caring and patient and really, really hot and I… I want you, in every way imaginable.”

No words are exchanged after that. They fall into each other and Ashton opens Luke up and they fuck face to face with Luke’s legs wrapped around Ashton’s waist. It’s intimate, it’s hot and it’s filthy, and when Ashton comes first and pulls out to wrap his hand around Luke, jerking him quickly, Luke doesn’t give one single fuck about how he sounds or looks when he comes.

They relocate to the shower afterwards, and Luke leans against the tiled wall while Ashton washes his hair. It’s comfortable and relaxing, and when they’re both clean and Luke bends over, pressing his hands flat against the wall, and Ashton nudges the head of his cock against Luke’s hole with a breathless, “Yeah? You want it again? Want me to fuck you right here, baby boy?”, Luke nods and waits impatiently while Ashton fetches the lube and a condom. It’s different, for sure, to have sex standing up while hot water cascades over their moving bodies, Ashton’s arm wrapped tightly around his stomach as he fucks into Luke with slow, steady thrusts that eventually become quick and desperate. But it’s mind-numbingly hot, and Luke comes with a hand on his own cock while moaning out a string of, “Oh, God, fuck, Ash, I— fuck, _fuck_ …”

“So,” Ashton says afterwards, when they’ve gotten dressed and are on their way down the stairs. “Sex in a bed and sex in a shower are covered; wanna stop somewhere on the way home and try car sex as well, just to get it out of the way?”

“Sounds like more hassle than it’s worth,” Luke says. “Maybe if we were both small, but we’re… kinda not.”

“You say the sweetest things,” Ashton says as he starts working on getting the coffee maker going. “What do you want for breakfast?”

Sitting down by the dining table, Luke shrugs. “Dunno. Maybe we could just stop at a diner or café or something later? I’m not really that hungry right now.”

Ashton folds his arms over his chest, leaning back against the counter, and grins. “Are you asking me on a date?”

“Yeah, because I wanted our first proper date to be in a random diner along the highway before noon,” Luke says dryly. “I’m quite romantic like that. Our second date’s gonna be Maccas in the car at four in the afternoon.”

“Make it a spontaneous trip to Maccas at four in the morning and it can sorta be confused for romance, if you squint,” Ashton says as he lolls his head back and forth in consideration. “Imagine it: I call you up in the middle of the night ‘cause I woke up with a desperate need for junk food, then I pick you up, we go to Maccas, buy too much food, and then we drive out to Lake Allatoona to eat it under the stars. Don’t tell me that’s not top notch romance.”

Luke lets out an involuntary laugh. Standing up, he walks up to Ashton and wraps his arms loosely around his shoulders. “It sounds like something from a movie,” he says. “Which means it’s a lot better in theory than execution.”

“Hey…”

“First of all, everyone knows that Maccas, especially the fries, have to be eaten immediately or they just go dry and soggy.”

“And?”

“ _And_ Lake Allatoona is, like… an hour outside Atlanta,” Luke says, raising an eyebrow. “Which means that not only would the food be inedible by the time we got there, but we also wouldn’t be back home until… I don’t know, seven in the morning.”

Ashton rolls his eyes, but it’s completely lacking in heat. “Fine, whatever, excuse me for trying to plan something nice.”

“I’m down with the lake-part of it or the Maccas or even the four in the morning, but maybe not all three at once.”

“So, picnic by a lake would work? Or if I showed up on your doorstep with Maccas on a Saturday evening, that would be okay? Or if I asked you to meet me for a walk at four in the morning, you’d accept?”

“Yes to the first two,” Luke says, nodding slowly. “The last… maybe, depends on the day and how tired I am.” Truth be told, he’d probably do it even if he was dead on his feet and had work in the morning, just because it’d mean that he’d get to spend more time with Ashton.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ashton says before he leans in to plant a chaste kiss on Luke’s lips. “No breakfast for now, then.”

“Nah, we’ll have a highway diner breakfast date later. I’ll take some coffee, though.”

As they watch the morning news and drink their coffee, as they have for six consecutive mornings, Luke can’t help but feel a hint of sadness that it’s the last time they’ll be doing it on this exact couch. He wound up getting a lot more than he bargained for when he accepted Ashton’s offer to come up here, but in the best possible way. If it was up to him, they’d just stay here for the foreseeable future, doing nothing but enjoy each other’s company, eat good food, watch movies, go for walks along scenic paths. He’s going to miss it, and he knows that the moment he sets foot inside his own flat and closes the door, he’s going to experience an intense feeling of mournfulness that he won’t be able to shake until he wakes up Monday morning to go to work.

Luke packs up his bag with no finesse or care whatsoever; he reckons all his clothes are going straight in the washer when he gets home, anyway, so what’s the point in trying to fold anything neatly? When his hand makes contact with the t-shirt he wore Thursday night, he snorts quietly at the stiffness of the fabric under his fingertips. It’s disgusting and unhygienic, but the memory that comes along with it is a good one. Luke never thought he’d be looking at a cumstained t-shirt with a fond smile on his face, yet here he is.

“Ready?” Ashton asks when Luke descends down the stairs, bag in hand. “It’s a couple of minutes past ten thirty, but I reckon we made a solid effort.”

“Solid enough,” Luke agrees. “Anything we’re supposed to do before we leave?”

“Nah, just make sure the windows and doors are locked and that the spa is turned off and closed, and that’s all in order, so…”

“So, nothing left to do but leave,” Luke finishes. 

Blowing a raspberry, he heads to the entrance hall and slips his shoes on before grabbing his jacket from the peg on the wall, then opens the front door and steps outside. It’s a grey morning and a fine drizzle is falling from the sky, and Luke thinks to himself, rather dramatically, that the weather’s mimicking his mood. He stands by the boot of the car until Ashton unlocks it, then throws his bag in before sliding into the passenger seat and fastening his seatbelt.

“I don’t wanna,” Luke grumbles as Ashton turns the engine on and backs the car out of the driveway. “Don’t wanna go back home, don’t wanna go back to work, don’t wanna have to deal with… anything.”

“You’re cute when you’re being all bratty,” Ashton says. He gets the car turned around, and then they’re off, leaving the cabin behind, nothing ahead but the road and, for the time being, forest. While Ashton focuses on the road, Luke browses the available radio stations for something decent to listen to, eventually settling on some top 40 pop segment.

“This okay with you or are you some kind of music snob?” Luke asks as the chorus of _Señorita_ flows from the speakers. “Please say no, because if you are, I’m gonna have to end this thing between us before it’s even gotten properly started.”

“Way to put me on the spot,” Ashton snorts. “But no, I don’t think I’m a music snob. I’ll listen to pretty much whatever, as long as it hits my ear right, you know?”

“Then you’re not a music snob,” Luke says as he shifts a little in his seat, attempting to find a position that doesn’t make his ass ache quite as much. “I went on a coffee date with this guy right after I moved here, and I swear we’d barely sat down and placed our order before he started moaning about how awful today’s music is.”

Ashton laughs, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the music. “Charming trait. My last girlfriend had some of the same tendencies, but at least she waited until the topic came up before she shared her thoughts.”

“Still not very attractive, but infinitely better.” Crossing his legs, Luke turns until he’s sitting more on the side of his thigh than on his ass; it helps a little, and it also grants him a full view of Ashton’s profile. “When was that? Your last relationship, I mean.” Pause. “If it’s okay that I ask.”

“Yeah, it’s alright,” Ashton says. He juts his lips out pensively. “We’re in October 2019 now and we broke up in February 2018, so… about a year and a half ago.”

“Why did it end?”

“Same old story – we weren’t on the same page in the relationship, she was ready to take the next step, move in together and get a dog or whatever, and I wasn’t,” Ashton says with a weak shrug of his shoulders. “Then I moved here a few months later, so it wouldn’t have worked out, anyway.”

“Hm. Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“Would you… I mean, if you were still with her when you got this job offer and she wouldn’t or couldn’t come with you, would you have… you know, considered turning the offer down to stay with her?”

“No,” Ashton says immediately. When Luke snorts, he throws a quick sideways glance at him, and smiles before clarifying, “I don’t mean that as a general rule, I don’t throw my relationships away without any further ado, but I wouldn’t have done it for her, because… I don’t think I ever saw a future with her. If the relationship in question was one I believed in, I would have.”

“That makes sense,” Luke says. He clasps his hands together, resting them in his lap. “I’ve never… you know, been the kind of hopeless romantic who’ll throw everything away for love, consequences be damned, but I think it can be worth it sometimes.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Ashton says. “We’re talking in hypotheticals now, though, right? Because no offense, but I don’t think I know you well enough to quit my job to come with you if you’re moving away.”

Luke laughs. “No, we’re talking in hypotheticals, don’t worry. But if you’re not ready to move across the world with me after maximum three dates, I don’t think there’s a future here.”

“That better be three killer dates, then,” Ashton muses. “How are you doing, by the way?”

“In regards to…?”

“In regards to the fact that we went three rounds in less than twelve hours, two of which rounds took place an hour or two before we started driving,” Ashton says, and there’s something akin to hilarity tugging at his lips.

Luke rolls his eyes. “I’m sore, thanks for asking. We might have to stop somewhere and get some hemorrhoid cream sooner or later.”

“Oh, now, that’s by far the sexiest thing that’s come out of your mouth in the last week,” Ashton snorts. Giving Luke’s thigh a gentle squeeze, he adds, “Let me know if it gets too bad, yeah? We can stop and buy a pillow or… hemorrhoid cream.”

“Will you apply it for me?” Luke asks, fluttering his eyelashes.

“Anything you need, baby boy.”

The drizzle evolves into full-on rain when they’re an hour or so into the drive. Luke keeps his eyes on the passing surroundings while the radio drones on and Ashton shares stories about his childhood, about his years in uni, about his daily life, about where in Atlanta he’d like for his future house to be. It’s relaxing in a way that has Luke smile for no particular reason as he curls up in the passenger seat, kept warm by the steady flow of hot air wafting from the vents in front of him. It’s nearing noon when a sign up ahead signalises that there’s a diner one mile further down the road, and while Luke is comfortable enough to be willing to ignore his grumbling stomach in favour of staying exactly where he is, he agrees when Ashton suggests they stop to get some food.

“I want everything on here,” Luke declares when they’ve found a table inside and he’s taken a look at the menu. “Sandwiches, eggs and bacon, pancakes, a burger…”

“I want a cheeseburger with extra bacon,” Ashton says. “Is it too early in the day to get a burger?”

“Nah. We’re still on vacation for another couple of hours, which means that normal meal times and whatnot don’t count. If you want a burger with enough fat to instantly clog your arteries as your first meal of the day, you should go for it.”

“You know,” Ashton starts as he closes the menu and lays it down on the table, “sometimes I peg you for being… not the sharpest tool in the shed, but then you go ahead and say wise things like that.”

“Don’t underestimate my wisdom, it strikes when you least expect it.”

Luke ends up ordering a club sandwich with a side of fries, and though it’s perfectly tasty, he can’t help but eye Ashton’s burger a little mournfully as they eat. Eventually taking pity on Luke, Ashton sighs deeply before he cuts off a solid chunk of his burger and puts it on Luke’s plate, and Luke repays the favour by giving him a chunk of his sandwich.

“See? We shared food and everything,” Ashton says when they’re back in the car and he’s steering out of the parking lot and back onto the road. “ _And_ you paid, so—”

“It wasn’t a date,” Luke cuts in. “I refuse to let our first date be in a diner where the floors were last mopped in the eighteenth century. No way.”

Ashton tries to argue and Luke keeps interrupting, and in the end Ashton folds with a loud laugh and a, “Fine, you big ol’ sap, it wasn’t a date!”

It’s nearing three in the afternoon by the time they reach Atlanta. As always when he leaves home, even if it’s just for a night, Luke expects everything to have changed, but of course it hasn’t. The buildings are the same as always, the roads familiar, and people are out and about, going about their lives, completely oblivious to the fact that a man whose life somehow has been turned upside down in a matter of days is regarding them.

Ashton pulls the car to a stop and turns the engine off right outside Luke’s building, removing his seatbelt before he climbs out. Closing his eyes for a split second, steeling himself for it all to be officially over, Luke follows Ashton outside.

“What, you’re gonna follow me upstairs?” Luke asks when Ashton grabs his bag from the boot and slams the door shut. “Make sure I don’t get lost in the lift?”

“Can’t be too careful,” Ashton says as he holds out a hand, silently asking Luke to lead the way. “There might be a serial killer on the loose; it’s prime serial killer season, remember?”

Luke stifles a laugh as he opens the building's front door and holds it until Ashton’s stepped inside before he lets it slam shut. As soon as they’re in the lift and the doors have closed, Luke steps into Ashton’s space and doesn’t waste another moment before he cups his jaw with both hands and pulls him in for a hard kiss. With a muffled groan, Ashton drops Luke’s bag to the floor and drags him closer with a tight grip on his waist as he returns the kiss. They don’t pull apart until the lift dings and the doors slide open.

“What was that for?” Ashton asks, a little breathless as he picks the bag back up.

Shrugging, Luke smiles. “It was a long car ride,” he says before he steps out into the hallway and pulls his keys from the pocket of his jeans. As he turns the keys, however, he’s surprised to find the door unlocked. With a slight frown, he pushes it open, suddenly quite relieved that Ashton’s right behind him, just in case there really is a serial killer in his flat.

“You did lock up before we left on Monday, right?” Ashton asks as he follows Luke into the entrance hall.

“Yeah, but Cal was over later that day to pick up Uno, anyway, so if the door’s been unlocked since then, it’s his fault, not mine.” As if on cue, a loud meow sounds from somewhere closeby, and a moment later, Uno comes trotting into view, immediately starting to rub himself against Luke’s legs.

“I think he missed you,” Ashton chuckles while Luke picks Uno up and hugs him close to his chest, cooing softly in response to the deep purr the cat’s letting out.

“Yeah, no shit,” comes a third voice, and Luke lifts his face from Uno’s head as Calum comes walking out of the kitchen. “I brought him over an hour ago, and he’s been going ballistic ever since, didn’t even bother sniffing at the wet food I put out for him.”

“You’ve been hanging around here for an hour?” Luke asks as he puts Uno down in favour of pulling Calum into a quick, one-armed hug.

Calum nods. “Mhm, cooked a pizza I found in your freezer and had a beer from your fridge.”

“Great,” Luke snorts. “Well, good to see you, too, and… you know, thanks for watching Uno for me.”

“Was for a good cause, wasn’t it?” Calum asks with a wiggle of his eyebrows that Luke in no shape or form appreciates. Before he can do anything about it, however, Calum turns his attention to Ashton. “So, Ashton.”

Smiling crookedly, Ashton puts Luke’s bag down on the floor before he says, “So, Calum.”

“I handed him over as a pure little flower, innocent and sweet, and you return him to me as a defiled, limping—”

“Okay, no, no, no!” Luke interrupts. “We’re not doing that. Forget it.” Turning to fully face Ashton, he rests his hands on Ashton’s shoulder and smiles. “I’ll… see you soon, yeah?”

“Lunch tomorrow at noon, maybe?” Ashton suggests. “We could go to that café that’s right around the corner from work, if you want.”

Luke beams. “Oh, yeah, they have the best caesar salad. I’m in.”

“Okay.” Throwing a look over Luke’s shoulder, presumably at Calum, Ashton leans in to give Luke a quick peck on the lips. He pulls back, then whispers, “Bye for now, baby boy,” only loud enough for Luke to hear. With a final smile and eyes that are shimmering with what can’t be described as anything but fondness, Ashton turns around and walks out the door, closing it with a quiet click. 

It’s all sorts of ridiculous, but Luke misses him the moment he’s out of sight, enough that a small lump is starting to form in his throat. He snaps out of it when Calum flings an arm around his shoulders, knocking the sides of their heads together in some sort of embrace.

“Good week, I take it,” Calum says. It’s not a question.

“The best,” Luke says. “Just… yeah. Amazing.”

“And you’re gonna keep seeing each other? This wasn’t just a vacation hookup-thing?”

“No, we talked about it last night,” Luke says as he frees himself from Calum’s arm and heads to the lounge, sitting down on the couch. Uno immediately bounces up to lie down in his lap, and Calum joins them a second later. “We’re gonna give it a go, we want… you know. Yeah.” Scratching at the soft fur behind Uno’s ear, he sighs deeply before turning his head to smile at Calum. “I like him a lot, Cal.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Calum says, and he’s smiling back. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this smitten with anyone. For what it’s worth, he looked just as smitten with you. All heart eyes and goofy smiles, the both of you.”

And Luke already knew that, already knew how Ashton feels about him, but hearing it from an outsider still makes his face heat up with happiness. “Yeah. I know.”

“See, something good finally came of those work parties you detest so much,” Calum says, bumping his shoulder against Luke’s.

Ducking his head, Luke smiles, cheeks still bright pink. “Suppose it did.”

Later that night, after he’s gone to bed, Luke receives a text from Ashton.

‘ _Miss you already baby boy xx_ ’ it says

And as Luke drifts off to sleep, his phone clutched to his chest, he lets himself hope that they’ll end up in a place some day where they won’t have to miss each other ever again.


End file.
